6 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

‘World’s oldest dated rune stone’ found in Norway

The oldest known Rune stone in Norway has been discovered by Norwegian archaeologists working at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

Sometime between 1,800 and 2,000 years ago, someone that spoke an early form of the ancient Nordic language stood near Tyrifjorden, west of Oslo, and carved runes into a flat, square block of reddish-brown sandstone, the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said in a statement Tuesday.

The 30 by 30 centimeter (12 by 12 inch) square brown sandstone rock was discovered during the excavation of an ancient burial ground in late 2021, northwest of Oslo, ahead of the construction of a railway line.

Carbon dating of bones and wood found in a grave beside the rune suggest that it was inscribed sometime between year one and 250 AD, Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History said.

The runestone is made from reddish-brown Ringeriks sandstone and has been named after the place of its discovery, Svingerudsteinen.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Photo: Alexis Pantos/KHM, UiO

Eight runes that have been deciphered as the words Idiberug, Idibergu, Idiberga, or Idiberung in a Proto-Germanic language that predates Old Norse are carved into the stone.

Professor Kristel Zilmer, from the Cultural History Museum, University of Oslo, said: “The text possibly refers to a woman called Idibera, and the inscription may mean “For Idibera”. Other possibilities are that idiberug reproduces a name such as Idibergu/Idiberga, or perhaps the family name Idiberung.”

Runes first appeared in the 2nd century AD and continued through the Viking Age and late Middle Ages. When the Scandinavian peoples were Christianized around AD 700 in central Europe and AD 1100 in northern Europe, runes were generally replaced by the Latin alphabet

Around 30 runestones from the Iron Age were discovered in Norway. Several thousand stones with runic inscriptions from the Viking Age have survived in Scandinavia. Early runic inscriptions developed in Scandinavia as a result of cultural contact; the Roman Latin alphabet may have served as a model.

KHM

Related Articles

3,000-Year-Old Huge Settlement Discovered in Northern France

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a remarkable settlement in the Hauts-de-France region, dating back to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron...

16th-Century Compass Possibly Belonging to Nicolaus Copernicus Unearthed in Poland’s Frombork

8 August 2024

8 August 2024

Researchers have discovered a 16th-century compass that is thought to have been used by astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in the canonical...

In Moravia, archaeologists discover divine thrones, thousands of artifacts and a new settlement

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

During a four-year dig in the Moravian city (Czech Republic) of Perov, rare gems, mysterious burial places, and divine thrones...

British archaeologists unearth the 1200-year-old man-made island

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

A team holding excavations and archaeological surveys on the historic Al Sayah Island in Muharraq, Bahrain found that it’s ‘man-made’,...

An inscription containing 15 headless falcons and unknown ancient rituals found in an ancient Egyptian temple

8 October 2022

8 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a shrine containing previously unknown ancient rituals during excavations at Berenike, a Greco-Roman port in Egypt’s eastern...

Extraordinary discovery for the Western Baltic Sea region: a 400-year-old shipwreck Found at Bottom of German River

3 August 2022

3 August 2022

During a routine measurement at Trave, near Lübeck, in the northern part of Germany,  Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Authority (Wasserstraßen-...

Ritual Sacrifice of Pregnant Woman: Ecuador may Reflect the Community’s Fear of Her Power

28 January 2025

28 January 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find in Ecuador, researchers have uncovered the rich burial of a pregnant woman and her fetus,...

A Colonnaded Hall with Extraordinary Frescoes of Still Life Found in Pompeii

27 December 2024

27 December 2024

Archaeologists in the famous ancient Roman city of Pompeii, one of the world’s most iconic archaeological sites, have revealed extraordinary...

Exceptional discovery of a fully frescoed chamber tomb dating back to the Republican and Imperial Roman ages

10 October 2023

10 October 2023

Waterworks in Giugliano, a suburb of Campania (Naples), have uncovered an untouched chamber tomb full of frescoes ceilings, and walls...

Salt May Have Been Used as Money in Exchanges

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

Salt has always been a precious metal. Salt was needed in many areas, from the preservation of food to the...

Archaeologists Uncover Sak-Bahlán: The Lost “Land of the White Jaguar,” Last Stronghold of Rebel Maya in Chiapas

31 July 2025

31 July 2025

Deep in the rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, archaeologists believe they have uncovered the lost city of Sak-Bahlán, known as the...

The Oldest Evidence of Stone Blade Production in Southern Arabia: 80,000-Year-Old Stone Blades Discovered

21 February 2025

21 February 2025

An international team of researchers led by Knut Bretzke of Friedrich Schiller University Jena uncovered 80,000-year-old stone blades at the...

490-Million-Year-Old Trilobites Could Solve Ancient Geography Puzzle

22 November 2023

22 November 2023

The humble trilobites may be extinct, but even as fossils, they can teach us much about our planet’s history. Indeed,...

Ancient Well Dating Back to 7th Century AD Discovered on Failaka Island

18 March 2025

18 March 2025

An ancient well, dating back to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, has been discovered on Failaka Island, providing valuable...

Military Team Discovers Remarkable 2,000-Year-Old Celtic Artifacts, Including Chariot Parts and Bridle-Bit

4 February 2025

4 February 2025

Military personnel and veterans at RAF Valley in Anglesey on the island of Anglesey, Wales, have uncovered sensational Iron Age...