Hammer of Thor (monument)

The Hammer of Thor is a tall, t-shaped, man-made rock formation called an inuksuk located along the Arnaud River in the Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada. It was discovered in 1964 by an archaeologist who thought it was erected by Vikings. Far more likely is that it is part of the long inuksuk building traditions of the Dorset culture and related groups, rather than being constructed by Norse colonists.

Description

The Hammer of Thor consists of three rocks stacked on top of each other—a vertical shaft, a cross piece, and a capstone. The vertical column, or shaft, measures about tall; the cross piece is about long; and the capstone is in height. The entire monument stands about high; and has been estimated to weigh about.
It is located on the northern bank of the Arnaud River, about above Payne Bay and 16 miles west of Kangirsuk village, near the western coast of Ungava Bay, in the Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada.

Discovery

The monument was discovered in 1964 by archaeologist Thomas E. Lee, during an anthropological expedition to Ungava. It had been standing for many years, and no one in the area knew who had erected it. Inuit tradition held that it predated their arrival in the area. Lee considered it to be European in appearance, and considered it to be proof that the Norse inhabited the Ungava region about a thousand years before. Lee thought it looked like a hammer and named the monument "The Hammer of Thor".