NOVA: The Viking Deception

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Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Jonathan Dent
Studio: WGBH Boston
Release Date: 2005-04-26
There are few more tantalizing or notorious historical documents than the Vinland map. A faded, yellowing scrap of parchment bearing a faint tracery of lines, the map apparently shows the eastern seaboard of North America-yet it was drawn at least half a century before Columbus reached the New World. It seems to present unshakeable proof that the Vikings were the real discoverers of the Americas. But for 40 years, a bitter debate over its authenticity has raged among cartographers, historians, and scientists. Despite chemical analysis and radiocarbon tests, the case remained unresolved. Now, in an exclusive investigation, NOVA presents fresh evidence confirming that the map was probably one of the cleverest forgeries of all time, and probes who might have wanted to carry out the deception. In this enthralling cartographic detective story, NOVA pursues a trail from Scandinavia to Austria, Switzerland, London, and the U.S.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.

An intriguing look into the forensics of document forgery
A very intriguing look at a the mystery of the Vinland map and its forgery and at the discovery of America by the Vikings before columbus.. This document was produced to look like a Viking map showing America from before the discovery of Columbus and eventually aquired through a crooked Italian book dealer by Yale University. Through various modern forensic tests, modern researchers, scientists and historians conclude that this document is a forgery, it also looks at why this document was forged and the people who might have been behind it. The journey takes us to Spain, and then to Nazi Germany. The documentary only slightly touches on if infact the Vikings actually were here before Columbus, but the general idea from the brief few minutes they cover this subject was, that they did.

An Interesting Mystery That Keeps Going and Going
On October 11, 1965, Yale University made history by announcing it had purchased and tested a map that proved the Vikings discovered North America before Columbus. Although it was proved through other means that the Vikings had landed on Canadian shores, the map announcement caused an uproar, especially with Italian-Americans and Italians. Many levels of testing on inks and parchment enabled scientists to determine it was an excellent fake. The mystery still continues since the originator has never been determined. This is an astonishing fake and the story behind it is more than a Sherlock Holmes Mystery. It is a tale of book dealers, CSI-like tracking of inks and papers, Hitler's belief of Viking superiority and the Aryan Race, librarians charmed by cunning book dealers, and Yale's purchase (through benefactor, Paul Mellon) of a map for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kirsten Seaver, author of Maps, Myths, and Men: The Story of the Vinland Map, gives us the "saga". She said the saga is a story telling of history and she gives us much background on the mystery of a marvelous map. A map that was thought to be authentic and proved to match "book worm holes" from a 1440 book - 50 years before Columbus went to America. An Italian by the name of Ferrajoli is a key figure on how the map was created, but he took that mystery to his grave. This wheeling and dealing con man made much money from stealing books from important European Libraries - it is fascinating how he did it.

The intrigue is still there: Where did the Vinland map come from? A good mystery documentary to curl up with and enjoy.

Plain Old Forensics
I usually love forensic studies. When they use science to convict murderers, I'm ready to cheer. Some may feel that this work is great for the same reasons. However, I felt that the producers tried to create a shroud of mystery for a question to which they clearly knew the answer. I didn't like the way this documentary pulled the viewer from A to B to C so blatantly.

This work includes a hilarious comic sketch in which Columbus duels with a Viking. Later, they show a pizza maker throwing dough on a Yalie. Still, there doesn't need to be a fight as far as I'm concerned. Even if the Vikings reached North America first, it's still Colombus who introduced the Americas to Europe on a large scale. It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. This work implied that no one wanted to upset Italian Americans, but surely that or any ethnic group would want the truth to come to light. The work shows a Yalie with a horned hat that the King of Norway gave him. However, almost every work on the Vikings says they did not wear horned hats.

The Yale museum shown looked like a waffle maker. What a monstrosity! How could the school that claims Maya Lin as an alumna have a building so tacky?!