Archaeologists in Norway said Tuesday they have found a runestone they claim is the world’s oldest, saying the inscriptions date back 2,000 years and date back to the early days of the esoteric history of runic writing.
The Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said the flat, square block of brown sandstone has inscriptions carved into it, which may be the earliest examples of written words in Scandinavia. It said it was “among the oldest inscriptions ever found” and “the oldest datable runestone in the world”.
“This discovery will give us a lot of knowledge about the use of runes in the early Iron Age. This may be one of the first attempts to use runes on stone in Norway and Scandinavia,” said Professor Christel Zillmer of the University of Oslo, of whom The museum is part, told The Associated Press.
Older runes have been found on other objects, but not on stone. The earliest runic find is on a bone comb found in Denmark. Zillmer said that perhaps a knife or needle tip was used to carve the runes.
The runestone was discovered in the fall of 2021 during the excavation of a grave near Tyrefjord, west of Oslo, in an area known for many monumental archaeological finds. Objects in the cremation ground – burnt bones and charcoal – indicate that the runes were probably carved between 1 and 250 AD.
“We needed time to analyze and date the runestones,” she said in explaining why the find was first announced on Tuesday.
The stone, measuring 31 cm by 32 cm (12.2 in by 12.6 in), has a variety of inscriptions, not all of which have linguistic meaning. The eight parts on the obverse of the stone read “Idiberug” – which could be a woman’s, a man’s, or a family name.
Zillmer called the discovery “the most sensational thing I’ve ever had as an academic”.
There is still much research to be done on the rock, dubbed the Svingerud stone after the location where it was found.
“Undoubtedly, we will gain valuable knowledge about the early history of runic writing,” Zillmer said.
The runestones will be displayed for a month, starting January 21, at the Museum of Cultural History, which houses Norway’s largest collection of historical artifacts from the Stone Age to modern times.
