00:00Over the years, archaeologists have uncovered all kinds of stuff on runestones, curses, poems, protective magic spells, and even inheritance disputes.
00:12However, a newly uncovered ancient Norse artifact known as Sphingarud Stone has just one word on it.
00:20Sounds boring, right?
00:21Well, think again, because this might just be the oldest runestone ever discovered, almost 2,000 years old.
00:29But that's not all. Excavations are still ongoing, and depending on what follows next, it could unravel secrets and the true meaning behind the mysterious magical runes.
00:40So let's explore and see just how much known history you can rewrite with only one engraved word on a stone.
00:49A long time ago, during the first few centuries of the Common Era, Scandinavians and Romans crossed paths.
00:55They traded goodies like glass and silver, and eventually, Roman customs and even written culture ended up north.
01:03The Nords liked the Roman alphabet but wanted their own letters copyrighted, so they decided to create their own unique characters, which they called runes.
01:13Almost 20 centuries later, in 2021, archaeologists were excavating an Iron Age burial site near the village of Sphingarud in eastern Norway.
01:22Among the cremation graves, they uncovered a reddish sandstone slab that would become a centerpiece in a major Norwegian archaeological discovery.
01:32It's the size of a coffee table, measuring just over 12 inches across.
01:36The stone was found buried with burned bones and charcoal, part of an early cremation grave.
01:43The stone had runes engraved into it, looking rough and shallow, like they were scratched with the tip of a knife or something needle-like.
01:51Rune stones are not unusual.
01:54Archaeologists are used to uncovering runic inscriptions, especially in this region.
02:00However, tests show that both the burial site and the carving on the stone likely date back to somewhere between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
02:09That places it deep in pre-Viking history, centuries before the Viking Age officially began, around 800 CE.
02:17That makes it one of the oldest reliably dated examples of early writing in Scandinavia.
02:23When you look at these carvings, they either look like magical symbols made to call on Nordic deities to help you,
02:30or like random scratches made by an angry man hitting a stone with something sharp.
02:35But these are real letters, crude but intentional.
02:38It's an ancient writing system used by Germanic tribes across Northern Europe.
02:44They were engraved into wood, bone, or stone.
02:48Their shapes are straight, angular lines because curves were tough to carve with the tools they had back then.
02:54When they met with the Roman Empire, rather than just borrowing Latin letters,
03:00the Germanic tribes took the idea of writing and carved out their own version.
03:04The original alphabet was called Elder Futgark.
03:08It had 24 letters.
03:09We can find them on artifacts dating from around the 2nd to the 8th century CE.
03:14Its name comes from its first six letters, F, U, Th, A, R, and K.
03:22Each rune probably had a name that matched the sound it made.
03:26For example, the rune that sounds like A was called Anzus.
03:31However, nobody from back then left us a memo explaining the names.
03:36In fact, the knowledge of how to read them was forgotten until 1865,
03:40when Norwegian linguist Sophus Bugge deciphered them by comparing clues.
03:46He examined later rune alphabets and ancient poems that referenced the runes,
03:50like a detective sketching a suspect from scattered witness clues.
03:55For many runes, especially the oldest ones in the Elder Futgark,
03:59the meaning is still open to interpretation.
04:02They weren't common knowledge, which is reflected by the fact that only some 350 surviving inscriptions remain.
04:08This changed eventually when the Scandinavian language evolved from Proto-Norse into Old Norse,
04:15spoken by mighty Vikings.
04:17The Elder Futgark was reduced from 24 to 16 runes to reflect the changes in the language,
04:23thus becoming the Younger Futgark, which was far better spread.
04:29Runes weren't really used to write books or keep daily records.
04:33Instead, you'd find them carved on gravestones, weapons, and various tools.
04:37It's believed that people used runes to show ownership,
04:40honor loved ones who had passed away,
04:43leave short messages, or sometimes for protection or magic.
04:47In the early days, some runes probably had special spiritual or ritual meanings too.
04:53One interesting fact about runestones specifically is that they were often used for self-promotion or boasting,
05:00like an ancient social media status or a tweet posted on a wall,
05:04or better said, a stone.
05:05One such example of a runestone from the 11th century,
05:09where a man named Vigmund had it carved for himself, calling himself the cleverest of men.
05:15He even added that he was a ship captain,
05:18and yes, he made sure everyone knew that while he was alive.
05:21In the Old Norse poem, Havamal,
05:25Odin says he hung on the world tree for nine nights,
05:29pierced by a spear, to gain knowledge of the runes.
05:32This goes to show just how powerful and mystical those symbols were perceived to be.
05:37It's fitting that the word rune comes from a Proto-Germanic word,
05:41which can be translated as secret or whisper.
05:44There's a common saying about power being in words,
05:48and for the old Germanic tribes, that power felt like actual magic.
05:54It's also why it's important to know when this magic came to be,
05:58and the Sphingerood runestone tells us that.
06:01But it's not just when it was written.
06:03It's also what's written on it, where, and why.
06:07The location where the Sphingerood stone was discovered
06:10is already a significant archaeological site.
06:13It's famous for its incredible discoveries,
06:15including the remarkable Jermunbu helmet,
06:18the only Viking helmet ever found in Norway.
06:21The stone was placed in a cremation pit,
06:24alongside the remains of an adult and a few personal items.
06:28Thanks to charcoal and bone samples,
06:30researchers can figure out how old the rune stone is
06:33by using a method called radiocarbon dating.
06:37The Sphingerood stone isn't the first ancient Norse artifact
06:40with runes that archaeologists have discovered,
06:43not even close.
06:45People carved runes into all sorts of everyday objects
06:47like combs, jewelry, and knives long ago.
06:51Some of those might even be just as old.
06:55Other finds have runes,
06:56but they're often broken, loose, or don't have clear dating.
07:01However, with radiocarbon dating,
07:03scientists have confirmed that the Sphingerood stone
07:05is really the oldest rune stone ever found.
07:09The writing on it suggests that it was part of a ritual
07:12and might have even been a message to the deceased.
07:14The inscription isn't long.
07:18It's just one word.
07:20Iteberg.
07:21No one knows exactly what it means.
07:23The clearest part says Itebera.
07:25And most researchers agree it's probably a name.
07:29Maybe Itebera in a genitive form,
07:31meaning of Itebera or belonging to Itebera.
07:35So this could be the name of the person buried there
07:37or someone being honored.
07:40There's a decent chance it's a female name,
07:42possibly making this the earliest known female rune inscriber in history.
07:47But researchers now believe that the Sphingerood rune stone
07:50is a part of a bigger monument.
07:53They found more than a dozen sandstone pieces
07:55scattered across several graves at the site,
07:58and when they assembled them in the lab,
08:00they fit together like a puzzle.
08:01This suggests they all came from one single upright stone.
08:06The main piece with the inscription was found in one grave,
08:10but other similar pieces were buried in nearby cremation pits.
08:15Archaeologists think it was broken and reused in a ritual,
08:18maybe to connect different people or generations who had been buried there.
08:23Instead of just marking one grave,
08:24it might have first been a memorial
08:26and was later put back into the other graves as a symbolic act.
08:31Some even speculate that the runes might have been carved
08:34by different hands throughout various time periods.
08:39The Sphingerood stone might be small,
08:41but as the oldest rune stone ever found
08:43with a secure archaeological context,
08:46it could be the key to how writing first took root in Northern Europe.
08:50This Norwegian archaeological discovery proves that runes
08:54were already tied to ritual, memory, and maybe even women.
08:59And if it's just a fragment of a larger monument,
09:02we've only seen part of the picture.
09:04Ancient Norse artifacts like this
09:06reshape what we know about pre-Viking history.
09:10And with luck, more rune stones will follow,
09:12maybe even from another female rune inscriber.
09:15That's it for today.
09:19So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
09:21then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:24Or if you want more, just click on these videos
09:26and stay on the bright side.
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