Norwegians Discover ‘World’s Oldest Runestone’: ‘The Most Sensational Thing I’ve Ever Experienced’ | Abroad

The scientists’ findings were announced today at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. “This will increase our knowledge of the use of runic writing in the early Iron Age. This may well have been one of the first attempts in Norway and the rest of Scandinavia to put runes on stone “said Professor Kristel Zilmer of the University of Oslo. “We now need to investigate and date the stone further.”

Runic script is, as far as we know, the oldest script in Scandinavia. Runestones, stones with inscriptions engraved on them, were mostly found as tombstones from the Viking Age. Older runic writings have been found, for example on pieces of bone that were used as tools, but never on stone.

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The stone in question – dubbed the Svingerud Stone – was discovered in the fall of 2021 during the excavation of an ancient cemetery near Lake Tyrifjord, northwest of Oslo. Archaeological discoveries have often been made in the region. A railway had to be built and so the cemetery was cleared. Carbon analysis of wood and bones found in the cemetery showed that the tomb was built between 1 and 250 AD. Scientists assumed that the first rune stones appeared in the 300-400 years, but this discovery could change this idea.

On the 31 by 32 centimeter piece of sandstone are various signs. Eight runes on one side of the stone combine as they are translated into the Latin alphabet: “Idiberug”. It could be the name of a man, a woman or a family, think the Norwegian researchers. Zilmer calls the discovery “the most sensational thing I’ve experienced as an academic.”

The stone is on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo from January 21 to February 26.