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Svingerud Runestone

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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

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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]

Close-up of the idiberug/n inscription on the larger stone.

Inscriptions

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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

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The University of Oslo placed the stone on public exhibition from January 2023 until late February 2023.[3]

See also

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Olsen 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gulliksen 2023
  3. ^ University of Oslo 2023.

Sources

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