Holy Grail in America

In 1898, a Minnesota farmer unearthed a stone slab covered with Swedish runes that told of a perilous journey to America—in 1362. Could the Kensington Rune Stone, as the marker came to be known, have been an elaborate hoax, or was it possible that European explorers reached the continent and traveled so far inland a century before Christopher Columbus? Anchored in interviews with researchers and scientists, this History Channel documentary directed by Andy Awes recounts the convoluted, controversial story, while also drawing a larger picture of how the Knights Templar amassed money and ships—following a traumatic fall from grace with European church officials—to possibly make an epic journey across the ocean. Noting that the Minnesotan's discovery roughly coincided with an exhibition honoring Columbus, Holy Grail in America acknowledges that irate Scandinavian-Americans might have sought to discredit that event; indeed, Vikings apparently sailed as far as Newfoundland around A.D. 1000, displaying a sophisticated grasp of geometry and astronomy, while objects similar to the Kensington find have turned up in places ranging from New England to Illinois. Although the program raises the tantalizing possibility that the Knights were seeking a secure resting place for the Holy Grail, it never goes beyond a brief consideration, which makes the DVD title somewhat misleading. No final answers are offered, of course, but the scholars interviewed here do make a reasonable case for renewed investigations. A colorful, provocative documentary, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)