NORWAY: Archaeologists in Norway have found what they believe is the world’s oldest runestone, saying the engravings are up to 2000 years old and date back to the enigmatic earliest days of runic writing history.
According to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, the flat, square block of brownish sandstone features carved scribbles that may be the first example of words inscribed in writing in Scandinavia.
It claimed to be “the oldest datable runestone in the world” and “among the oldest runic inscriptions ever found.”
“This find will provide us with a lot of knowledge about the use of runes in the early iron age. This could be one of the first attempts to use runes in Scandinavia and Norway on stone,” according to professor Kristel Zilmer at the University of Oslo, which houses the museum.
Older runes have been discovered on other objects, but not on stone. The first runic artefact was discovered on a bone comb in Denmark. Zilmer speculated that the runes may have been carved using a needle or the tip of a knife.
In late 2021, the runestone was discovered while a grave excavation was taking place close to Tyrifjord, west of Oslo, in an area known for numerous significant archaeological finds. Burned bones and charcoal found in the cremation pit show that the runes were most likely engraved between AD1 and AD250.
“We needed time to analyse and date the runestone,” Zilmer said, explaining why the discovery was first made public on Tuesday.
The stone, which is 31 by 32 centimetres (12.2 by 12.6 inches), has a variety of inscriptions, not all of which make linguistic sense. The front of the stone has eight runes that read “idiberug,” which could be the name of a man, a woman, or a family.
The rock, called the Svingerud Stone after the location it was unearthed, is still the subject of a great deal of research.
The runestone will be on display for one month, beginning on January 21, at the Museum of Cultural History, which has Norway’s biggest collection of historical relics, from the Stone Age to the Modern Era.
Several Germanic alphabets, including the runes, were used throughout northern Europe before the Latin alphabet was adopted. They have been seen on stones and various household items.
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