Runestone that could be up to 2,000 years old uncovered in Norway | 24CA News
A runestone claimed to be the world’s oldest, with inscriptions as much as 2,000 years previous, has been present in Norway, archaeologists mentioned Tuesday.
The flat, sq. block of brownish sandstone has carved scribbles, which often is the earliest instance of phrases recorded in writing in Scandinavia, the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo mentioned. It mentioned it was “among the oldest runic inscriptions ever found” and “the oldest datable runestone in the world.”
“This find 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 in Norway and Scandinavia on stone,” Kristel Zilmer, a professor on the University of Oslo, of which the museum is a component, advised The Associated Press.
Older runes have been discovered on different objects, however not on stone. The earliest runic discover is on a bone comb present in Denmark. Zilmer mentioned that perhaps the tip of knife or a needle was used to carve the runes.
The runestone was found within the fall of 2021 throughout an excavation of a grave close to Tyrifjorden, west of Oslo, in a area identified for a number of monumental archaeological finds. Items within the cremation pit — burnt bones and charcoal — point out that the runes doubtless have been inscribed between AD 1 and 250.
“We needed time to analyze and date the runestone,” she mentioned to clarify why the discovering was first introduced on Tuesday.
‘Sensational’ discovery
Measuring 31 centimetres by 32 centimetres, the stone has a number of forms of inscriptions and never all make linguistic sense. Eight runes on the entrance of the stone learn “idiberug” — which might be the title of a girl, a person or a household.
Zilmer referred to as the invention “the most sensational thing that I, as an academic, have had.”
There remains to be a variety of analysis to be completed on the rock, dubbed the Svingerud stone after the location the place it was discovered.
“Without doubt, we will obtain valuable knowledge about the early history of runic writing,” Zilmer mentioned.
The runestone can be exhibited for a month, beginning on Jan. 21, on the Museum of Cultural History, which has Norway’s largest assortment of historic artifacts, from the Stone Age to fashionable instances.
