Archaeologists claim to have found world’s oldest runestone in Norway

Archaeologists have found a flat, square block of a brownish runestone in Norway and claimed it to be the world's oldest, with inscriptions dating back to almost 2,000 years. The stone is 31 cm by 32 cm (12.2 inches by 12.3 inches).The Museum of Cultural History in Oslo said that this runestone might be the earliest example of words recorded in writing in Scandinavia. It said that this brown runestone is among "the oldest runic inscriptions ever found" and is the oldest datable in the world, APreported.

Kristel Zilmer, a professor at the University of Oslo said, "This find will give us a lot of knowledge about the use of runes in the early iron age. This may be one of the first attempts to use runes in Norway and Scandinavia on stone."

The runestone was initially found in late December 2021 during an excavation of a grave near Tyrifjord, in West Oslo, but is being announced now because the teamneeded time to analyse and date it, addedZilmer.

The stone has several types of inscriptions but does not make all linguistic sense.

Other items in the cremation pit included burned bones, and charcoal, indicating that it might have been inscribed between AD1 and AD250.

Zilmer called the discovery as the "most sensational thing" that she has had as an academic.

Older runes have been discovered but not on stone. One of the earliest runic was found in Denmark on a bone cone.

(With inputs from agencies)

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