Narragansett Runestone/Quidnessett Rock - North Kingstown, RI
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 41° 34.203 W 071° 27.094
19T E 295598 N 4604943
The Narragansett Runestone, also known as Quidnessett Rock, was recently recovered, moved, evaluated, and then installed in the village of Wickford.
Waymark Code: WMQ2Y3
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2015
Views: 32
In the North Kingstown village of Wickford is the Narragansett Runestone, installed at this location in October 2015 after a short but intense period of movings and evaluations.
The stone is in a small fenced area behind a white building that was once the local library - bronze statues are still present some feet away. The stone is roughly the side of a grand piano weighing 2 1/2 tons. On the side facing the white building are two rows of symbols, which some have indicated are runes. At the location is a historical sign installed at the same time to provide some history.
The marker documents how the marker was first sighted at a location near Pojac Point in the intertidal area, about 5 miles north of the present location. The first documented knowledge of the stone was in 1948. The locals kept it secret until a Quahogger (essentially a clamdigger) discovered it in 1984. From that time, much has been speculated about it. The marker has three possibilities:
1. They were left by Norsemen on one of their excursions
2. They were left by the Knights Templar
3. They were left by local immigrants out of national pride.
A fourth possibility was that a man had stated that he had made the runes in the 60s. Experts have determined that the age of the runes was older and also having other accounts of seeing it earlier indicated that he could not have possibly done it.
The rock was stolen in 2012 from its location. One of the residents of the rock, sick of strangers trespassing to find the rock, had it removed and dropped into the bay. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Criminal Investigation Unit caused the resident to recover the rock. In 2014, the rock was moved to Goddard Memorial State Park. In the fall of 2015, a place was specially made for this rock and it was unveiled in October of that year.
And now it is available for all to visit and contemplate.
Sources:
Wikipedia (Narragansett Runestone):
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visit link)
Patch.com (Narraganset Rune Stone Returned Tests Coming):
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visit link)
Providence Journal (History Channel geologist links Narragansett Rune Stone markings to Knights Templar):
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visit link)