Svingerud Runestone
| Svingerund Runestone | |
|---|---|
| Svingerudsteinen | |
| Type | runestone |
| Material | brownish sandstone |
| Size | 31 cm × 32 cm (12 in × 13 in) |
| Writing | Runes |
| Symbols | Runes |
| Created | bet. 1 and 250 CE |
| Discovered | Fall 2021 |
| Present location | Museum of Cultural History, Oslo, Norway |
| Culture | early Iron Age |
The Svingerud Runestone is a sandstone object featuring Elder Futhark inscriptions found in a grave west of Oslo, Norway. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the grave and the runestone date to between 1 and 250 CE, during the Roman Iron Age, making it the oldest datable runestone known in the world, and potentially the oldest known runic inscription.[1] The discovery is additionally notable for the content of its inscriptions.
Discovery and context
[edit]Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, discovered the stone in the autumn of 2021 while investigating a gravefield near Tyrifjorden. The runes, recording words of an early form of the Proto-Norse language (a northern development of Proto-Germanic), were carved, possibly with the tip of a needle or a knife, in a block of reddish-brown Ringerike sandstone measuring 31x32 cm (12.2 in by 12.6 in).[2]
Runologist Kristel Zilmer, Professor of Written Culture and Iconography at the Museum of Cultural History, worked on interpreting the inscriptions on the rune stone throughout 2022. Zilmer said, "Having such a runic find fall into our lap is a unique experience and the dream of all runologists. For me, this is a highlight, because it is a unique find that differs from other preserved rune stones."[2]
The stone is named after the site where it was found (Svingerud, a tiny settlement North of Oslo) and has generally been referred to as Svingerudsteinen ('the Svingerud Stone') to date.[2]
Inscriptions
[edit]The first three runes of the runic alphabet, ᚠ (f), ᚢ (u) and ᚦ (th), are found in one place on the stone, making this the earliest known occurrence of this sequence.[2]
Eight runes are more legible than its other inscriptions; transliterated into Roman letters they spell either idiberug or idiberun. According to Zilmer, "The text may refer to a woman called Idibera and the inscription could mean 'For Idibera'. Other possibilities are that idiberug is the rendering of a name such as Idibergu, or perhaps the kin name Idiberung. And there are other possible interpretations – as common with early runic inscriptions."[2]
Exhibition
[edit]The University of Oslo placed the stone on public exhibition from January 2023 until late February 2023.[3]
See also
[edit]- Einang stone, another ancient runestone from Norway which has previously been called one of the oldest
- Meldorf fibula, a metal fibula found in Schleswig-Holstein that features rune-like writing, dated to around 50 CE
- Negau helmet, one helmet, known as Negau-B and dated to 300-350 BCE, features the oldest known writing in a Germanic language
- Vimose comb, another candidate for the earliest known runic inscription, a wooden comb found deposited in a bog in Denmark and dated to about 150 CE
Notes
[edit]Sources
[edit]- Olsen, Jan M. 2023. "Norway archaeologists find 'world's oldest runestone'". AP News. January 17, 2023.
- University of Oslo. 2023. "The world's oldest runestone". Historical Museum. Undated.
- Gulliksen, Øivind Found the world's oldest rune stone Museum of Cultural History. Oslo. January 17, 2023.
- Staff World's oldest runestone found in Norway, archaeologists say January 17, 2023. AP in Copenhagen.