WHAT IS THE KENSINGTON STONE?

A stone slab found on a Minnesota farm in 1898 with an inscription in runes purporting to record the arrival of a party of exploring Vikings. An object of controversy from the start, it is now dismissed as a forgery, despite recent confirmation of Viking visits to the eastern American coast. This supposed relic of a 14th-century Scandinavian exploration of the interior of North America is a 90 kg (200-pound) slab of graywacke inscribed with runes (medieval Germanic script). The inscription, dated 1362, is purported to be by a group of Norwegian and Swedish explorers from Vinland who visited the Great Lakes area in that year. The stone is housed in a special museum in Alexandria, Minnesota, and a 26-ton replica stands in nearby Runestone Park.

WHAT IS THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD?

Period of the widest Greek influence, the era between the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc) and the rise of the Roman Empire (27/30 bc), when a single, uniform civilization, based on Greek traditions, prevailed all over the ancient world, from India in the east, to Spain in the west. During these three centuries, Greek culture crossed many political frontiers and spread through many cities founded at that time, especially the new capitals of Alexandria, Antioch, and Pergamum. A common civilization became established throughout the known world for the first time, one which integrated the cultural heritage of each region and subsequently left a deep impression on the institutions, thought, religions, and art of the Roman, Parthian, and Kushan Empires. The Hellenistic cultural influence continued to be a powerful force in the Roman and Parthian Empires during the early centuries ad.

WHAT IS THE HADRA WARE?

A kind of Hellenistic pottery first found in the Hadra cemetery at Alexandria. It was a burial container inscribed with the name of the deceased and often the date painted or incised on the shoulder.