‘World’s Oldest’ Runestone, Up To 2,000 Years Old, Found In Norway

Archeologists believe they discovered the “world’s oldest” Runestone from Norway dating back between AD 1 & AD 250 was discovered by archeologists announced Tuesday. It is believed to be one of the earliest written examples in Scandinavia.

The discovery was made during the excavation of a grave near Tyrifjorden, west of Norway’s capital Olso, in the fall of 2021. The discovery was kept secret by researchers for years. “analyze and date the runestone,” Kristel Zilmer, University of Oslo, stated that this was according to her. In the project were archeologists from the Oslo Museum of Cultural History as well as the University of Oslo. investigating The site.

“We thought that the first ones in Norway and Sweden appeared in the years 300 or 400, but it turns out that some runestones could be even older than we previously believed,” Zilmer told NTB.

According to the museum, runes are letters used by Germanic peoples. They are the oldest form in the region of writing. They were in use from the 1400s to the 1200s. Only 30 runestones were found in Norway before this discovery. They can be dated back to AD 550.

Also, archeologists found charcoal and cremated human remains dating back to AD 25-250. A spur ranging from 0 to AD 500 was also found in the cremation pit cemetery grave that contained the runestone. Radiocarbon dating was used to date the grave. helped date the stone’s inscriptions between AD 1 and AD 250. According to the museum, cremation grave pits were used. “common funerary practice from the late Bronze Age to the Roman Iron Age.”

Photo by JAVAD PARSA/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

The runes were carved into a “reddish-brown” A sandstone block measuring 31cm by 32cm. Zilmer spent the last year studying the inscriptions on stone. Some did not make sense linguistically according to Zilmer. Associated Press.

According to the museum “Idibera” The name of the woman buried there is carved into stone. Zilmer acknowledges that there may be a few variations of the name or that it could have been an a. family name. “The stone has several kinds of inscriptions,” Zilmer stated. “Some lines form a grid pattern and there are small zigzag figures and other interesting features. Not all inscriptions have a linguistic meaning,” She speculated, even though she was not sure if it was someone who was learning how to carve the letters.

Zilmer says it’s difficult to interpret the inscriptions because of the constantly changing nature of language between the Viking age, the Middle Ages, and when this runestone was created. According to the museum, there are many examples of runestones dating back to the Viking age. However, one such stone is extremely rare.

According to the AP, while the runestone is the oldest known to have been found on stone, there are older runes that were not found on stone. It will be published. exhibited From January 21 through February 26, at the Museum of Cultural History, Oslo

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