A mysterious runestone, a persecuted society and one of the holiest relics in all of Christianity – what do these things have in common and what do they have to do with the discovery of the New World?

Though it may sound like a teaser for one of “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown’s bestsellers, it’s not. Chaska residents Andy and Maria Awes challenge the history books with answers to these questions, and more, in their new documentary, “Holy Grail in America.”

Bought by the History Channel in March, “Holy Grail in America” is scheduled to air as part of History’s massive fall lineup, Maria Awes said.

“We’re extremely excited,” said director and editor Andy Awes. “It’s been a long process.”

Runestone

Photos courtesy of Committee FilmsThe two-hour documentary kicks off with an investigation into the authenticity of the Kensington Runestone. In tracing the possible origins of the stone, the program ultimately suggests that the Knights Templar may have discovered America well before Christopher Columbus and may have made a land claim in the process.

“It’s been a wild ride,” said Maria, who served as producer and writer. She originally became intrigued with the idea of a documentary investigating the origins of the Kensington Runestone after doing a story on Chanhassen resident and geologist Scott Wolter during her time as an investigative reporter at WCCO.

Wolter has been trying to uncover the mysteries of the stone for the last 10 years. He was first called to examine it by the Kensington Runestone Museum in July 2000. “Sadly, I had never heard of it before,” he admitted.

The 200-pound stone tablet was reportedly discovered in western Minnesota in 1898 as farmer Olof Ohman cleared trees on his property. It bore old Swedish rune markings that were later translated to read “Eight Goths and 22 Norwegians on exploration journey from Vinland over the west. We camp by two skerries one day-journey from this stone. We were and fished one day. After we came home, 10 men red with blood and tortured. Hail Virgin Mary, save from evil. Have 10 men by the sea to look after our ship, 14 day journeys from this island year 1362.”

But the authenticity of the stone has been questioned for the last century.

“It’s such a touchy subject,” said Andy. “I was blown away by the amount of controversy.”

“If it’s the real article, it fundamentally changes the history of Minnesota and the entire country in a profound way,” said Wolter.

Despite all the controversy, few studies have been done on the stone. Wolter and the Awes hope that will all change once their documentary airs.

“I want to see scholars get off their butts and do some research,” said Wolter.

Holy Grail

The documentary is the culmination of more than a year’s worth of travelling, researching and interviews done by the couple and a small crew.

They have trekked to places like Sweden, Norway, England and Nova Scotia, interviewing linguists, archaeologists, physicists, and authors to come to the conclusion in the documentary that it is entirely possible that an expedition including Cistercian monks and Knights Templar may have taken place in the 1300s, resulting in the carving of the Kensington Runestone.

The program goes on to suggest that the Knights Templar, who are rumored to have once been guardians of the Holy Grail, may have brought the artifact to American shores during their persecution in the 12th century.

“It’s a wild ride,” said Maria. “And it all starts in Kensington with Scott’s study.”

“It’s not about what I think, hope or believe,” Wolter said. “It’s about the evidence.” And Wolter is confident that the evidence is there to prove that the Kensington Runestone was no hoax.

“The weathering of the inscription is older than 200 years,” he said. “That puts it at 1698, and there were only French fur traders in the area then. It’s not a late 19th century hoax and if it’s not that, then what is it?

“This rewrites history,” he continued. “People are going to be shocked.”

“My personal belief is that the stone is real,” said Andy. “But I don’t necessarily believe all the theories presented in the documentary.”

Todd Cobery, producer, Andy Awes, Bo Hakala, cinematographer That said, Andy hopes the documentary forces people to reconsider the runestone. “This needs to be taken seriously,” he said. “It really needs to be studied by scholars.”

The trio is prepared for the program to open eyes and trigger some backlash. “I’m ready for it,” said Maria.

That’s fine with Andy, too, as long as people see it. “One of our main goals was getting the story out there to a much wider audience.”

History Channel

Finding a platform to present the documentary to a bigger audience was the Awes’ biggest challenge.

“We definitely had high hopes when we started,” said Andy.

But the couple had little clout to get a foot in the door at the History Channel or National Geographic.

Andy, who owns Committee Films and has been in video and film production for the last decade, has focused primarily on commercial programs, directing national campaigns for Subway, Best Buy and Porsche and editing programs like “DragonflyTV” and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Maria spent 11 years in television news.

“The commercial and news world is different from cable television,” said Andy.

Maria Awes, producer; Andy Awes and HakalaThey caught a break in March when they entered the trailer for their documentary into a national competition for emerging producers. “We won the competition,” said Andy. “That opened all the doors.”

The History Channel bit on their documentary shortly thereafter and quadrupled their budget. The Awes know the Knights Templar connection explored in their program only helped to draw interest, but they are careful to distinguish the theories presented in “Holy Grail in America” from those in fictional works like “The Da Vinci Code,” “National Treasure,” and “Indiana Jones.”

“We’ve got hard science mixed in with facts,” said Andy.

“This makes Indiana Jones look calm,” said Wolter.

Series

As the Awes work tirelessly long hours to meet the Aug. 7 deadline for their completed project, they are already looking ahead to their next documentary.

“We’re hoping we’re quick enough on the draw to explore other things in more depth,” said Andy. “We’d love for this to turn into a series.”

Though this was the first time the couple has collaborated on a project, the success of this documentary has them looking forward to working together again.

“I’m so excited for Andy and Maria,” said Wolter, noting that he had been approached to do such a documentary before the Awes approached him. “I felt like they were the right ones. And I’m so happy with the work they’ve done.”

“You have to have an open mind,” said Maria. “When you look at history, it might not be so cut and dried.”

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer