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".
Given growing knowledge about and appreciation for Inuit culture, contemporary scholars believe this work is as likely to be an Inuksuk, a stone landmark, erected by Inuit.
Read more about this topic: Hammer Of Thor (monument)
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