Around the time of the Romans, the Nordic cultures developed their first script: the runes. Archaeologists in eastern Norway have now discovered the oldest evidence of this old Norse carving. Found in a cremation pit dating to before 250, the stone slab bears runes older than any previously found. Among the inscriptions is also a word that could represent a name. Other signs, however, still pose a mystery.
While Mediterranean cultures have been using writing since the Bronze Age, writing developed very late in Central and Northern Europe. The Germanic and Nordic cultures only began to develop their own scripts - the runes - in Roman times. According to current theory, these characters, usually carved into rock or other solid materials, were derived from the characters of the Romans and other cultures, but were heavily modified and rearranged. The oldest Norse runic alphabet has 24 letters and is called "Futhark" after its first six letters.
But when the people of Scandinavia developed their runes and used them for the first time is still unclear. Because most rune stones date from the Viking Age around 1000 AD, there are only a few finds from the early days of runic writing. However, scholars assume that the Norse cultures developed their writing somewhere between the years 1 and 250.
Found in a cremation pit
Now a rune stone from eastern Norway gives new insights into this early period of rune development. Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo made this find while conducting a rescue dig ahead of a highway construction project in eastern Norway. In the area around Lake Tyrifjorden, south of Hønefoss, numerous archaeological relics have been discovered before, including a Viking helmet and several graves. During excavations in 2021, archaeologists uncovered other historical artifacts in the form of several cremation pits. During the Bronze and Iron Ages, the remains of a cremated dead were buried in such graves, which are not visible above ground, together with grave goods.
In one of these cremation pits, the researchers discovered a 31 by 32 centimeter stone slab with numerous runes carved into it. Dating of the bones and grave goods shows that the tomb and rune stone date from between 25 and 250 AD. This makes this rune stone the oldest ever found in Norway. "Finding such a rune is unique and every rune researcher's dream," says Kristel Zilmer from the Kulturhistorisches Museum. “It is a real highlight because this unique find differs from all previously known rune stones.”
Evidence from the early days of runic writing
The rune stone baptized “Svingerudsteinen” is also the only evidence from the early period of Norse writing that has been discovered in an archaeological context. The decipherment of the runes immortalized on this plate is all the more important and revealing. However, this is not easy because the runes carved into the stone represent a very early form of the Norse language and script, as Zilmer explains. "The stone bears several inscriptions," she reports. “Some are lined up in rows forming a grid, but there are also smaller zigzag figures and other motifs. Not all inscriptions seem to have a linguistic meaning."
The researcher suspects that some of the scratches could have been made by novice writers, by people who had little experience with runic writing and had to experiment. One runic word, however, clearly stands out: the letter sequence “idiberug” is scratched large and clearly on the front of the stone slab – possibly the name of the dead person or people buried in this grave. “This text could refer to a woman named Idibera. The inscription would then read 'For Idibera',” explains Zilmer. But it is also possible that this is derived from the name Idibergu or Idiberga or perhaps the clan name Idiberung. Which assumption is correct is still unclear for the time being, as is the meaning of many other symbols on the stone. However, Zilmer hopes that his signs will give even more insight into the writing and living environment of the Nordic culture almost 2000 years ago.
Source: Cultural History Museum University of Oslo