The remains of the supposed compass known as the Uunartoq disc were found in Greenland in 1948 in an 11th-century convent. Though some researchers originally argued it was simply a decorative ...

This suggests that the spread of Viking-inspired solar compass technology in the region is a possibility. The medieval discs assessed in the study may have been among such tools introduced by the ...

One reason for this is the disks’ design, with the Kyiv and Listven disks featuring a central hole that could hold the gnomon — the pointy component of a sundial that casts a shadow when hit with ...

A correspondent informs us that a friend of his has invented a new gnomon for sun-dials, which is simply a piece of thread or twine carried at an angle from the center of the dial to a post set at ...

The dial’s gnomon has a support in the shape of a bird, with a tiny plumb bob (a hanging weight used to establish a vertical line). A magnetic compass is used to align the sundial. Around the ...

The remains of the supposed compass — known as the Uunartoq disc— were found in Greenland in 1948 in an 11th-century convent. Though some researchers originally argued it was simply a ...

A wide hole within the center of the disk — previously interpreted as a place to grip the compass — could have served as a holding spot for this so-called central gnomon, the team suggests.

Now, new interpretations of a medieval compass suggest the sea robbers may have skillfully used the sun to operate the compass even when the sun had set below the horizon. IE 11 is not supported.