The first three runes of the alphabet can be found in one place on the stone ᚠ (f), ᚢ (u) and ᚦ (th). The runic alphabet is called the futhark, because the first six runes are 'f u th a r k'.

And there are other possible interpretations – as common with early runic inscriptions,” says Professor Zilmer. Other possibilities are that idiberug is the rendering of a name such as Idibergu, or perhaps the kin name Idiberung. “The text may refer to a woman called Idibera and the inscription could mean 'For Idibera'. Interpreting the messages on the stone is therefore a challenge. The ways of writing older inscriptions varied considerably and the language changed a lot between the time when these runes were carved and the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. Converted into Roman letters they spell: idiberug. Is there a name inscribed on the stone after the person who was buried in the grave? On the front face of the stone, eight runes stand out more clearly than other inscriptions. The stone is named after the site and is now being called Svingerudsteinen (the Svingerud Stone). Over the past year, she has worked extensively on investigating and interpreting the inscriptions on the rune stone, while archaeologists at the Museum of Cultural History have simultaneously been working on dating the grave and analysing other finds from the grave field. For me, this is a highlight, because it is a unique find that differs from other preserved rune stones,' says runologist Kristel Zilmer, Professor of Written Culture and Iconography at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo. 'Having such a runic find fall into our lap is a unique experience and the dream of all runologists. They spoke an early form of the ancient Nordic language that is the ancestor language of modern Nordic languages spoken in Scandinavia today. Sometime between 18 years ago, someone stood near Tyrifjorden and carved runes into the 31x32 cm block of reddish-brown Ringerike sandstone. This rune stone is thus one of the very earliest examples of words recorded in writing in Scandinavia, and the inscriptions provide new insights into the development and use of runic writing during the early Iron Age. Radiocarbon dates show that the age of the grave and thus the inscriptions on the stone probably date back to 1-250 CE. But exactly how old is the runic alphabet, and when were the first rune stones made? These are questions that researchers have been seeking to answer for many years.Ī new archaeological find is attracting international attention among runic scholars and archaeologists: the world's oldest dated rune stone was discovered during the autumn of 2021 when archaeologists at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, investigated a grave field in Hole near Tyrifjorden, Eastern Norway. Inspired by the classical alphabets, such as the Roman alphabet, the Germanic peoples created their own characters – runes. Archaeological material testifies to the fact that this is how they acquired knowledge about new customs and forms of organisation, and not least a written culture. During the first few centuries of the Common Era, during the period that archaeologists call the Roman Iron Age, Scandinavians came into contact with Roman society by trading goods and through their encounters with the Roman army.

Rune stones elder futhark