How did carvings appear on the Narragansett Rune Stone? Why the mystery remains

[Buster's Uncle]

How did carvings appear on the Narragansett Rune Stone? Why the mystery remains
Jack Perry, Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
Mon, August 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT
2 min read



Tim Cranston, North Kingstown historian, helps to unveil the Narragansett Rune Stone at its new home in Wickford in October 2015.


NORTH KINGSTOWN – The Narragansett Rune Stone is no longer covered by water, but it's still shrouded in mystery.

Removed from the water off North Kingstown, the 2½-ton stone now sits amid a bunch of smaller stones and brick walkways for easy viewing in the town's Wickford Village.

Nine runic characters, including a "hooked X," carved into the boulder have sparked a mystery that may never be solved. Are the letters a sign that the Vikings visited Narragansett Bay, or that the Knights Templar, protectors of the Holy Grail, voyaged to Rhode Island's shores?

Or were they carved into the stone by a teenager in the 1960s, as a Providence man claimed to have done? Or, as one historian claimed, is it more likely the characters were carved in the late 1800s to mark a property boundary?

The stone was originally located about 20 feet beyond the low-tide line at North Kingstown's Pojac Point, visible only at low tide. As word spread of its mysterious markings, interest in the boulder grew, and many people made the trek to check it out, until in July 2012, the boulder disappeared, creating a mystery within a mystery.

That launched an investigation, but the rock's whereabouts remained unknown for eight months, until a man, never officially identified, advised state lawyers that he knew where the stone was and how to get it back. The boulder was later delivered on a flatbed truck to the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography in Narragansett.

In October 2015, the stone was unveiled in its new "landscaped, tourist-friendly setting" behind 55 Brown St. in Wickford, The Providence Journal reported. Now the 7-foot-long, 5-foot-7-inch-high meta-sandstone rock is a lot easier to see.

At the dedication, Town Historian Tim Cranston told the gathering of about 120 people that he couldn't say with certainty who carved the nine runic characters into the stone or how long ago. Nothing has really changed in the last decade, Cranston said recently.

The display includes an educational sign outlining the rock's mysterious history.

"Some believe it is a record of a visit to Narragansett Bay by the Vikings or other Norsemen, or Icelandic explorers/trappers, still others a voyage by the Knights Templar," the sign says. "Some believe it was more likely rendered by immigrants to our area, out of national pride, in the late 19th-20th centuries."

Officials expressed hope it would draw curious visitors. "It still does draw a lot of interest in town, especially with tourists," Cranston said.

It's been added to the self-guided "Wickford Walk" tour, according to Cranston. That's helped people find the stone, but it hasn't solved the mystery.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Narragansett Rune Stone in North Kingstown remains a mystery