Monumental-sized stones with runic inscriptions and decorations have been found throughout the Viking world, especially across Scandinavia.
They were usually erected as memorials for the dead. The practice is traditionally thought to have started around the 4th century CE, with the last examples coming from the 12th century.
However, a runestone recently discovered at Svingerud in Norway pushes back the date for the earliest runestone.
Found deliberately broken and placed in multiple graves, radiocarbon dating of the graves dates the stone dates to between 50 BCE to 275 CE.
Since runestones aren’t always found in datable contexts, other runestones might also date earlier than previously suspected.
To celebrate this new discovery, let’s look at the Viking runestone tradition and some of the most famous runestones discovered over the centuries.
The Runestone Tradition
Until recently, it was believed that the Runestone tradition started in Norway and Sweden in the 4th and 5th centuries, though we now know that it may be a much older tradition.
Runestones started to appear in Denmark in the 8th and 9th centuries, and then most date from between 950 and 1100 CE.
The stones dedicated during the Christian era contain Christian references such as images of Christ and Christian prayers.
The inscriptions suggest that they were usually raised to commemorate the dead, and this is confirmed by short passages in both the Ynglinga saga and Havamal, which say that it was common to raise memory stones for the honored dead.
Most were colorfully painted, though the paint is no longer visible today.
The 3,000 runestones found across Scandinavia make up about half of all runic inscriptions known from the region.
Isolated examples also survive from areas where the Vikings traveled including the British Isles, Isle of Man, Faroe Islands, and the Black Sea, but by far the most survive from Sweden, around 2,500.
Only around 40% were discovered in their original context, with others being incorporated into churches, roads, bridges, and other constructions, making them difficult to date.
Inscriptions, at least between 950 and 1100, follow a similar formula, stating to whom the runestone was raised, who raised it, and the relationship between the two.
They also relate the social status of the dead person, foreign voyages, and place of death, possibly followed by a prayer.
Famous Runestones
Let’s look at some of the most interesting Viking runestones discovered over the centuries.
We have mostly selected runestones that explore pagan themes, or persons of importance.
Klyver Runestone
The Klyver Stone from Sweden is one of the earliest and most famous runestones.
Dated to 400 CE it lists all of the runes in the Elder Futhark alphabet, the runic alphabet used in proto-Viking times before it was replaced by Younger Futhark.
The flat limestone rock was used to seal a grave, and the runic inscription was written on the underside.
This had led to suggestions that it was a spell to prevent the dead from rising.
Stentoften Runestone
The Stentoften Runestone was found at Blekinge in Sweden and also uses Elder Futhark.
Dating to 500-700 CE, it appears to contain a curse.
It says that the master of the runes concealed here nine bucks, nine stallions, and runes of power to result in insidious death to whoever breaks, presumably the entrance to a nearby burial mound.
It was also found on the ground with the inscription facing downwards and surrounded by five sharp larger stones forming a pentagram.
Jelling Runestones
The Jelling Runestones were raised at Jelling in Denmark in the 10th century.
The older of the two was raised by King Gorm the Old to his wife Thrya, with an inscription that seems to reveal she was a very powerful Viking woman.
The larger stone was raised by King Harald Bluetooth for his father King Gorm.
While it is a memorial for his parents, the inscription celebrates Harald’s conquest of Denmark and Norway and the conversion of the Danes to Christianity.
Harald’s three-sided runestone depicts a traditional Norse twisted animal on one side, and Christ on the cross in a similar style on another side, which is also reminiscent of the god Odin hanging himself from Yggdrasil.
Mask Stone
The Mask runestone was found at Aarhus in Denmark.
The inscription honoring the dead man relates to the Battle of Svolder, which happened around the year 1000, and the Battle of Helgean, which was around 1026.
The stone was also decorated with a fantastic black mask, giving the stone its name. It was probably meant to protect the dead against evil spirits.
Similar face masks appear on other runestones throughout Scandinavia.
The stone was probably originally located along an important road into Aarhus, as were many others, but was then reused as building material.
This would have made it highly visible to travelers.
Hunnestad Monument
The Hunnestad Monument is a group of runestones that were found at Hunnestad at Marsvinsholm in Sweden.
It was one of the largest monuments known from the Viking Age but was unfortunately lost or destroyed in the 18th century when the region was modernized, and so only survives in drawings.
The monument originally consisted of eight runestones, five of which had images, and two of those image stones also had runic inscriptions.
One of the runestones showed a large man dressed in a long coat and a pointed helm, carrying an axe on his right shoulder.
His appearance suggests that he was a member of the Varangian Guard.
It was erected for Hroir and Leikfrodr, the sons of Hunni Hand.
Another stone shows a Christian cross, while another shows a traditional Norse animal, probably a wolf, ridden by a woman who has two snakes in her hands.
This aligns with descriptions of the giantess Hyrrokkin, who helped the Aesir push Balder’s funerary boat out to sea.
Södermanland Runic Inscription 86
This runestone was found at Aby in Sweden and features both an image of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, and a mask. It also has a circular runic inscription in younger Futhark, which is in a band made by the bodies of two serpents.
There are many explanations for the mask, which sits above the hammer, but this also matches several Mjolnir pendants, which seem to show a mask on the handle.
The inscription says that Asmundr and Freybjorn raised the stone in memory of their father Herbjorn.
Both sons of names linked to the Old Norse gods, with Freybjorn meaning “Freyr Bear” and Asmundr “divine hand.”
This confirms that this stone was erected by pagans.
Stenkvista Runestone
The Stenkvista Runestone, also known as Sö 111, was found near Stenkvista church in Sweden and is another that depicts Thor’s hammer.
This is another runestone with the inscription appearing in bands created by the bodies of animals, especially serpents.
The inscription says that Helgi, Freyrgeirr (Freyr Spear), and Thorgatr (Thor-Goth) raised it in memory of their father Thormundr.
Thorwald’s Cross
The Thorwald’s Cross runestone was found in the church of Andreas on the Isle of Man.
Dating to 940 to 1050, it gets its name from the fact that the stone, which has a large cross depiction, was raised by someone called Thorwald.
The runestone’s pictures show a man with a beard holding a spear downward at a wolf with his right foot in its mouth, while a large bird sits on his right shoulder.
This is almost certainly Odin, identified by his spear and raven familiar, in battle with the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök.
On the other side of the cross seems to be an image of Christ triumphing over Satan, seemingly drawing a parallel between the two stories.
Ramsund Carving
The Ramsund Carving is one of several runestones found across Sweden that seem to tell the story of the hero Sigurd.
This particular example, dating from around 1030, shows several scenes from the story all contained within banded animal bodies that seem to represent a dragon, like the dragon Fafnir slain by Sigurd.
The inscription mentions a man, Sigrodr, who was the husband of Sigridr and the father of Alrikr.
The similarities in his name with that of Sigurd seem to have been what drove the connection.
Lenberg Stone
The Lenberg Stone was found in Ostergotland in Sweden and is very similar to Thorwald’s cross, with images on either side of a cross, which also has roots, perhaps relating it to Yggdrasil.
The image above shows the front, side, and back of the stone side by side.
On one side it shows a figure with his foot in the mouth of a four-legged beast below which lies a legless helmeted man with his arms in a prostrate position.
This is thought to be Odin again, being devoured by Fenrir.
The other side shows two men with shields, one perhaps standing on a horse and the other on a ship.
This seems to be indicative of warriors traveling into battle and may relate to the life of the warrior for whom the stone was erected.
