Web Publish: Friday, March 31, 2000

Rune theory proposed

BY MARCUS BLAIR, TIMES RECORD

HEAVENER — A Sallisaw man says the markings on the Heavener Runestone were not made by Vikings but are a monument to French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle.

Dr. Lee W. Woodard, a Sallisaw minister and self-described La Salle historian, claims the chiseled runes on a rock slab at Heavener’s Runestone State Park present the famous explorer’s birth and death dates and provide a map to the site of his assassination and burial.


Kodey Toney / Times Record

Dr. Lee Woodard has proposed an alternate theory on the origin of the Heavener Runestone. Woodard explains his findings to, from left, Peggy White and Suvi Petajajarvi Thursday at the runestone in Heavener. Petajajarvi is an exchange student from Finland who was visiting with White from Little Rock. Petajajarvi was trying to decipher the writing from her native language

 

 

He believes his theory, which will soon be published, could eventually transform the Runestone into a National Park to honor La Salle, but feels some local people may be angry with him if the park loses its Viking mystique.

“I’ve researched it from every angle for 17 years,” Woodard said. “To me, it’s more than a runestone — it’s a monument.”

According to state park information, the Runestone was first discovered by a Choctaw hunting party in the late 1830s. It is believed to be a boundary marker carved by Scandinavian explorers between 600 and 900 A.D.

Researchers, including Heavener resident Gloria Farley, have translated the runes as “Glome Dal” which means “Glome’s Valley.”

Farley, who has studied the Runestone since 1928, is largely responsible for bringing the area its state park designation and has written a book about the marker.

“I haven’t seen his book yet, and I would need to read it before I respond,” Farley said. “But I’ve worked 52 years studying the Runestone and I know we both can’t be right.”

Woodard said his studies of ancient Greek and Hebrew writings “trained his eye” to search document margins for clues to the meanings of the texts. When he visited the Heavener Runestone in 1984, he said he immediately noticed several distinct chiseled lines between the runes.

“I saw more than just eight big runes,” he said. “The lines puzzled me.”

Woodard said he found on the stone English and Latin letters forming La Salle’s name, a drawing of his profile, and a detailed map to his burial site — complete with an “x” to mark the spot.

Historians have long said La Salle died and was buried in south Texas, but Woodard says he was killed and buried in LeFlore County near the Poteau River.

Woodard said he followed the directions on the supposed map, which indicated a bend in the Poteau River the distance of three French leagues from the monument, and found a burial mound.

The mound has not been excavated, but Woodard said he believes if state officials will allow the grave to be unearthed, they will find the 300-year-old remains of La Salle.

According to Woodard’s theory, La Salle’s German-English companion, Gemme Hiens, carved the encrypted words on the rock slab as a monument to the explorer, who historians say was slain by his own men. The markings supposedly reveal the date of La Salle’s death: March 19, 1687.

Other runestones found on hills in LeFlore County apparently are survey markers used by Hiens to triangulate the location of La Salle’s grave, Woodard’s theory states. Using the markers, the carver could chisel his map with greater accuracy.

Woodard’s book, “Secret La Salle Monument and Historical Marker,” will soon be published, he said. His Web site can be found at www.lasallemonument.com.

Reporter’s e-mail: mblair@swtimes.com

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