Norway made a fascinating discovery. Local archaeologists have found a runestone that they believe dates back to the time of Jesus Christ.
A team of Norwegian archaeologists has found the oldest runestone known to them so far. The small, brownish piece of stone carved with mysterious inscriptions is said to date from the time of Jesus Christ and may be regarding 2,000 years old.
“The inscriptions, which are up to two thousand years old, come from the most ancient period of the mysterious history of runic writing” – says the statement of the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, which was the first to make the news public this week.
The small piece of sandstone was found when the research team was investigating an ancient burial site near Lake Tyrifjorden, northwest of the Norwegian capital Oslo, in late 2021. According to the Oslo museum, the runes on the stone “Norway’s oldest known writing”. The author of the runic script “he spoke an ancient language that is considered to be the predecessor of Old Norse”, the mother tongue of all Nordic languages spoken today, the statement added.
There are several types of engravings on the stone, the museum said, adding that not all of them “has a linguistic meaning”. Several runes clearly stand out from the rest of the inscriptions, and it is “idiberug” constitutes a word, the announcement states. However, scientists have not yet been able to confirm its exact meaning. They believe it is “Idiberg” you laugh “Idiberon” might mean a family name.
Bones and wood materials found in the burial site near the runestone indicate that the inscription on the runestone dates back to AD. It was made between 1 and 250, when the ancient Roman Empire flourished and Christianity took its first steps. According to some media reports, the stone is centuries older than all other previously discovered runestones.
“This find provides a lot of knowledge regarding the use of runes in the early Iron Age. This may be one of the first attempts to use runic writing on stone in Norway and Scandinavia” – said Kristel Zilmer, professor at the University of Oslo for AP news agency. The discovery at the same time “he called it the most sensational thing that happened to me as an academic”.
The runic alphabet was used by Germanic peoples, including the Scandinavians, before adopting the Latin alphabet. Some forms of runic writing were used in Scandinavia even in the Middle Ages, and in the Swedish province of Dalarna this form of writing was preserved until the 20th century.
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