Discovery of the oldest rune stone in the world
Detailed view, taken on January 17, 2023 in Oslo, of inscriptions on a sandstone, believed to be the oldest rune stone in the world.
AFP - JAVAD PARSA
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
It's an unexpected find: Norwegian archaeologists have unearthed what may be the world's oldest runestone, dating back nearly 2,000 years.
This discovery is major for experts in the field, because it is several centuries older than those already known.
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The block of brown sandstone, about thirty centimeters on a side, was discovered in a burial field unearthed in the fall of 2021 near Lake Tyrifjorden, northwest of Oslo, during work for the construction of a railway line.
Dating of bones and charred wood found in a tomb alongside the stone suggests it was carved between AD 1 and AD 250, the Cultural History Museum said. Oslo.
An origin still mysterious
The runes are the letters of the old alphabet used in Scandinavia, the
futhark
, until it was gradually replaced by Latin from the 9th century.
The oldest found, used in particular at the age of the Vikings, date from the year 300. Thus, this new discovery reshuffles the cards, because it could be 2,000 years old.
Used by several so-called pre-Germanic peoples, the runes have an origin that is still largely mysterious.
This thread 🧵 is about a unique discovery made in Hole, Norway: the oldest dated #runestone in the world.
“This may change our knowledge of the tradition of early runic writing and the custom of making runestones,” according to @Kristel_Zilmer https://t.co/2PbcDEdA6I
— Bernadette Arnaud (@NarudaaArnaud) January 18, 2023
On the stone discovered today, eight runes were engraved;
once transcribed, they form a word:
idiberug
, unknown to researchers.
They then make the assumption that it is a proper name, probably that of the deceased next to whom the stone was found.
Additional research will therefore be necessary to better understand the history and meaning of this object.
But in the meantime, the runestone is on display at the City of Oslo Museum of Cultural History until February 26.
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The #runic alphabet.
According to Wikipedia, it derives from Etruscan and Retic.
The 3rd letter, #Thorn, is still used in Iceland.
pic.twitter.com/EDH7hNlfZ8
— Francois Chauveau (@Mukrome) October 12, 2017
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