29 March 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Using 3D scanners, archaeologists have identified the person who carved Jelling Stone Runes

Researchers at the National Museum of Denmark using 3D scans have identified who carved the Jelling Stone Runes, located in the town of Jelling, Denmark. The discovery shows that Queen Thyra was far more important than was previously assumed.

Today, the details of our individual writings, from the way we compose our letters to the pressure we apply to pen and paper, can be used to define us. The same, it seems, is true for ancient runesmiths, which has allowed archaeologists to finally identify the person who carved the amazing Jelling stones in Denmark.

The Jelling stones are located in the town of Jelling, near the eastern coast of Denmark. They consist of two massive stone monuments that date back to the 10th century AD. The oldest was erected by King Gorm the Old to honor his wife Thyra, while the second stone was raised by his son, Harald Bluetooth to commemorate his parent’s memory. This second stone also contains intricate carvings that describe Harald’s achievements. It celebrates his conquest of Denmark and Norway and how he converted the Danes to Christianity.

Harald Bluetooth on the second stone describes himself as “that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.”

Featuring in every Danish passport, the Jelling Stone is known as the ‘birth certificate’ of Denmark.

3D scans of runestones enable researchers to gain a close-up view of traces of the carving process. This means they can tell the carving technique of the different rune stones apart. Every experienced stonemason holds his chisel at a certain angle and strikes the hammer with a specific force: this is visible in the angle of the traces of the carving and the distance between them. The motor function developed in such work is individual. The name is Ravnunge-Tue. A runicist from the Viking Age, whose name is hardly well-known among the general public, but who, on the other hand, is quite well-known among professionals.

Jelling Stone Runes. Photo: National Museum

By analyzing these unique features and the distance between them, the team were able to compare the runes on the Jelling stones with others, such as the Laeborg Runestone, which is located about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away. 

This comparison has been invaluable. It turns out the Jelling stones display the same carving techniques as those on the Laeborg Runestone.

For this project, seven Jutland runestones were 3D scanned: the two Jelling stones, the two Baekke stones, the Lborg stone, the Home stone, and the Randbl stone. The runes on the smaller Jelling Stone were too worn to see the signature chiseling techniques. It’s possible Ravnunge-Tue carved that one too.

Queen Thyra’s Power

The discovery is in itself interesting because it can link another person to the Jelling dynasty, but it is especially interesting because the realization brings with it another startling revelation, explains Lisbeth Imer, runologist and senior researcher at the National Museum in Copenhagen.

“The fact that we now know the name of the rune carver of the Jelling Stone is incredible; but what makes the discovery even more amazing is the fact that we know who Ravnunge-Tue’s boss was. She was Queen Thyra of Jelling – mother of Harald Bluetooth, wife of Gorm the Old,” says Lisbeth Imer.

The two Jelling stones mention Queen Thyra as the mother of Harald Bluetooth, wife of Gorm the Old and ‘Denmark’s salvation’. However, the name Thyra also appears on two other rune stones: the Læborg Stone, which Ravnunge-Tue carved in memory of Thyra; and Bække 1, which bears the inscription, ‘Ravnunge-Tue and Fundin and Gnyple, these three made Thyra’s mound.’

Lisbeth Imer, a runologist and senior researcher at the National Museum of Denmark. Photo: Denmark National Museum
Lisbeth Imer, a runologist and senior researcher at the National Museum of Denmark. Photo: Denmark National Museum

For many years, researchers have been debating whether the Queen Thyra of the Læborg Stone is the same as the Jelling Thyra. However, based on the new research, the likelihood of two different Thyras is significantly less, because, according to the researchers who conducted the analyses, Ravnunge-Tue carved both the Læborg Stone and the Jelling Stone.

That means Queen Thyra was on at least four rune stones, more runic mentions than anyone else in Viking-era Denmark, twice the number of mentions her husband and son got. Lisbeth Imer believes that this also highlights just how important Queen Thyra was.

“This means that Queen Thyra was far more important than we previously assumed. She probably came from a nobler, older family than Gorm the Old, whom we usually refer to as the first King of Denmark. This is extremely interesting when it comes to understanding the power structure and the genesis of Denmark as a nation,” says Lisbeth Imer.

All four rune stones that mention Thyra are located in Southern Jutland, implying that her power was based in this area, while Gorm the Old may have come from elsewhere.

The Denmark National Museum

Cover Photo: Megalithic Portal

Related Articles

New discoveries show that Claros continued to serve as an oracle center after Christianity

14 September 2022

14 September 2022

Game boards and forked cross motifs dating to the fifth and seventh centuries AD were discovered at the ancient Greek...

A 2,200-Year-Old Monumental Pyramidal Structure Discovered in the Judean Desert

26 March 2025

26 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a monumental pyramidal structure in the Judean Desert, dating back 2,200...

Bronze Age Wedge Tomb Discovered on the Dingle Peninsula maybe Even Older

22 April 2021

22 April 2021

A wedge tomb recently discovered on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland was described by archaeologists as “quite unusual”. Wedge tombs...

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of the poet Aratos in the Soli Pompeiopolis Ancient City

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of Aratos, the famous poet and astronomer of the...

Farmer Found an Ice Age Cave Under His Field

30 March 2021

30 March 2021

A naturally formed cave was found near the town of Kraśnik in southeastern Poland, used by humans during the Ice...

Hundreds Of Mummified Bees inside their Cocoons from the Time of the Pharaohs found in Portugal

25 August 2023

25 August 2023

Hundreds of mummified bees inside their cocoons have been found on the southwest coast of Portugal, in a new paleontological...

Khirbet Midras pyramid and  Archaeological Site in Israel

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

Khirbet Midras (Arabic) or Horvat Midras (Hebrew) is one of several antiquities sites located within the Adullam Grove National Park,...

A 4,000-year-old treasure map of France’s

17 October 2023

17 October 2023 1

Overlooked for millennia, a rock fragment adorned with enigmatic inscriptions has emerged as a valuable “treasure map” for archaeologists. After...

An intact Punic Tomb was Discovered in Malta

29 May 2021

29 May 2021

İntact a tomb dating to the Punic period was found in Tarxien. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has announced the...

From Destruction to Discovery: Ancient Greek Tombstone Discovered in Libya After Storm ‘Daniel’

2 March 2025

2 March 2025

The Libyan Antiquities Authority has officially confirmed that an ancient artifact uncovered in the torrents caused by Storm “Daniel” in...

3,000-Year-Old leather Shoe discovered On A Beach In Kent, UK

26 February 2023

26 February 2023

A Bronze Age relic found on a Kent beach is believed to be the oldest shoe ever found in the...

Baptismal font from the Ottonian period discovered: Oldest evidence of a quatrefoil-shaped basin north of the Alps

19 March 2024

19 March 2024

The site of a font of the medieval Ottonian dynasty, from the tenth century, has been discovered in the crypt...

Lead sling bullet inscribed with “Julius Caesar” name found in Spain

5 January 2024

5 January 2024

A lead sling bullet inscribed with the name of Julius Caesar and the Ibero-Roman city Ipsca has been discovered in...

Ancient cooking vessel found in northern Minnesota dates back more than 1,600 years

28 February 2022

28 February 2022

Dating of Ceramic sherds found in 2003 at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota revealed the vessel...

4,400-Year-Old Jade Cylinder Seal Found in Western Türkiye

6 December 2024

6 December 2024

A cylindrical seal made of jade stone dating back to 4,400 years ago was found in Kütahya Seyitömer Höyük (Seyitömer...