Famous runic inscriptions: 20 runestones and objects with readings

On a timeline

Script

Found in

Vimose comb

An antler comb from a Danish bog with the word harja: one of the oldest runic inscriptions that can be dated, from the middle of the 2nd century AD.

Elder Futhark

late 2nd or early 3rd century AD · Norway

Øvre Stabu spearhead

An iron spearhead from a Norwegian grave with the runes raunijaz, 'tester': one of the oldest runic inscriptions, naming the weapon itself.

Elder Futhark

probably 4th century AD · Norway

Einang stone

A 4th-century Norwegian runestone still on its grave mound; its carver 'painted the rune', an early certain use of the word runo.

Elder Futhark

c. 200–450 AD · Norway

Tune stone

A Norwegian runestone of the 3rd–5th century, one of the longest Proto-Norse texts: a memorial that mentions three daughters and an inheritance.

Elder Futhark

c. 400 AD · Sweden

Kylver stone

A Gotland grave slab from about AD 400 carrying the oldest complete listing of the 24-rune Elder Futhark, in its own order.

Elder Futhark

late 4th or first half of the 5th century AD · Romania

Ring of Pietroassa

A gold neck-ring from a Gothic hoard found in Romania in 1837, with runes naming the Goths and calling it holy; cut by a thief in 1875.

Elder Futhark

early 5th century AD · Denmark

Golden horns of Gallehus

Two gold horns found in Denmark in 1639 and 1734 and melted down in 1802; one bore the line ek hlewagastiz holtijaz horna tawido.

Elder Futhark

second half of the 5th century AD · England

Undley bracteate

A small gold bracteate from Suffolk, c. 450–500, with a she-wolf and twins and a runic legend that may be the earliest text in (pre-)Old English.

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

6th–7th century AD · Sweden

Björketorp runestone

A 4-meter runestone in Blekinge from about the 7th century, carved with a curse on anyone who breaks the monument and the words 'prophecy of ruin'.

Elder Futhark

first half of the 8th century AD · France

Franks Casket

An 8th-century Northumbrian box of whale bone, carved with Weland, the Magi, Rome and Jerusalem, and inscribed in runes, Old English and Latin.

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

8th century AD · Scotland

Ruthwell Cross

An 8th-century Northumbrian cross in Scotland carved with verses of The Dream of the Rood in runes, among the oldest English poetry.

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

The west face of the Rök stone under its roof beside Rök church

early 9th century AD · Sweden

Rök runestone

The longest runic inscription on stone, about 760 runes, raised by Varinn for his dead son in early 9th-century Sweden; its riddles are still argued over.

Younger Futhark

9th or 10th century AD · England

Seax of Beagnoth

A 10th-century Anglo-Saxon long knife from the Thames, inlaid with the only complete 28-rune futhorc row known from an inscription, and the name Beagnoth.

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc

The small Jelling stone, raised by King Gorm for Thyra, in its glass case at Jelling

mid-10th century AD · Denmark

Small Jelling stone (Gorm's stone)

The smaller Jelling runestone, raised by King Gorm the Old for his wife Thyra in the mid-10th century, with an early mention of 'Denmark' on Danish soil.

Younger Futhark

The runic face of Harald Bluetooth's stone at Jelling

c. 965–985 AD · Denmark

Large Jelling stone (Harald's stone)

Harald Bluetooth's runestone at Jelling, c. 965–985: 'who won all Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian'.

Younger Futhark

The Ramsund carving on Ramsundsberget, with the painted runes and Sigurd scenes

c. 1030 AD · Sweden

Ramsund carving (Sigurd carving)

A Swedish rock carving of about 1030 showing Sigurd killing the dragon Fáfnir; the runes inside the serpent record a bridge built for a man's soul.

Younger Futhark

11th century AD · Greece

Piraeus Lion

An ancient marble lion from Piraeus, carved with runes by Scandinavians in the 11th century and taken to Venice in 1687.

Younger Futhark

Runes on a wall of the Maeshowe chamber, including twig runes

mid-12th century AD, probably around 1150–1153 · Scotland

Maeshowe runic inscriptions

About thirty Norse runic graffiti cut in the 12th century inside Maeshowe, an Orkney tomb: boasts, jokes, treasure tales, crusaders.

Medieval runes

A rune-stick from Bryggen carved with a fleet of ships, 13th century (University Museum of Bergen)

c. 1150–1350 AD · Norway

Bryggen rune-sticks

About 670 medieval rune-sticks from Bergen's wharf, c. 1150–1350: love notes, owner's tags, business letters, Latin verses and a wife's 'come home'.

Medieval runes

presented in 1898 · USA

Kensington Runestone

A Minnesota stone 'found' in 1898 claiming a Norse expedition of 1362. Runologists and linguists agree it was carved in the 19th century.

19th-century creation

All inscriptions in a table

Inscription	Signum	Date	Script	Found	Now
Vimose comb	DR 207	c. 140–160 AD (archaeological dating); often given as c. 160	Elder Futhark	Vimose bog, Allese parish, northwest Funen, Denmark	National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen
Øvre Stabu spearhead	N KJ31	late 2nd or early 3rd century AD (archaeological dating; RuneS gives c. 210–240)	Elder Futhark	Øvre Stabu farm, Østre Toten Municipality, Innlandet, Norway	Museum of Cultural History, Oslo
Einang stone	N KJ63	probably 4th century AD (RuneS gives late 2nd to early 5th century from the grave field)	Elder Futhark	Einang, Gardberg grave field, Vestre Slidre Municipality, Valdres, Innlandet, Norway	Still standing on its grave mound at Einang, under a glass and timber shelter
Tune stone	N KJ72	c. 200–450 AD; RuneS gives 200–400, with a 3rd-century date thought most likely if it stood by a rich grave	Elder Futhark	Churchyard wall of Tune church, Østfold, Norway	Museum of Cultural History (Kulturhistorisk museum), Oslo
Kylver stone	G 88	c. 400 AD (from the grave it covered)	Elder Futhark	Kylver farm, Stånga parish, Gotland, Sweden	Swedish History Museum (Historiska museet), Stockholm
Ring of Pietroassa	—	late 4th or first half of the 5th century AD (date of the hoard; estimates vary)	Elder Futhark	Istrița hill near Pietroasele (formerly Pietroassa), Buzău County, Romania	National Museum of Romanian History, Bucharest
Golden horns of Gallehus	DR 12	early 5th century AD (c. 400–450 on archaeological and art-historical grounds)	Elder Futhark	Gallehus, near Møgeltønder, Tønder Municipality, South Jutland, Denmark	Lost: stolen and melted down in 1802. Replicas are in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen
Undley bracteate	—	second half of the 5th century AD (c. 450–500)	Anglo-Saxon Futhorc	Undley Common, near Lakenheath, Suffolk, England	British Museum, London
Björketorp runestone	DR 360	6th–7th century AD; most scholars favor the 7th century	Elder Futhark	Björketorp, Listerby parish, about 7 km east of Ronneby, Blekinge, Sweden	Standing at its site, with two tall uninscribed stones, beside an Iron Age grave field
Franks Casket	—	first half of the 8th century AD (c. 700–750)	Anglo-Saxon Futhorc	Made in Anglo-Saxon England (probably Northumbria); surfaced in the 19th century at Auzon, Haute-Loire, France	British Museum, London (front, back, left side and lid); right side in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence
Ruthwell Cross	—	8th century AD; the runes perhaps c. 750	Anglo-Saxon Futhorc	Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire (Dumfries and Galloway), Scotland; then in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria	Inside Ruthwell parish church, in an apse built for it in 1887
Rök runestone	Ög 136	early 9th century AD	Younger Futhark	Rök church, Ödeshög Municipality, Östergötland, Sweden	Standing beside Rök church, under a protective roof (on this spot since 1933)
Seax of Beagnoth	—	9th or 10th century AD (usually given as 10th century)	Anglo-Saxon Futhorc	River Thames at Battersea, London, England	British Museum, London
Small Jelling stone (Gorm's stone)	DR 41	mid-10th century AD (before Gorm's death, c. 958)	Younger Futhark	Jelling, Vejle Municipality, Jutland, Denmark	In front of Jelling church, between the two great mounds, in a climate-controlled glass case
Large Jelling stone (Harald's stone)	DR 42	c. 965–985 AD (after Harald's conversion, which is usually placed in the 960s, and before his death c. 985)	Younger Futhark	Jelling, Vejle Municipality, Jutland, Denmark	In front of Jelling church, midway between the two great mounds, in a climate-controlled glass case
Ramsund carving (Sigurd carving)	Sö 101	c. 1030 AD	Younger Futhark	Ramsundsberget, near Sundbyholm, Jäder parish, Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland, Sweden	In place, carved on bedrock at Ramsundsberget
Piraeus Lion	By NT1984;32	11th century AD; the right-side band probably last quarter of the 11th century	Younger Futhark	Harbor of Piraeus, Athens, Greece (where the runes were carved)	Outside the entrance of the Arsenale, Venice, Italy (since 1687–88); plaster cast in the Swedish History Museum, Stockholm
Maeshowe runic inscriptions	Br Barnes1–33	mid-12th century AD, probably around 1150–1153 (with more than one visit)	Medieval runes	Maeshowe chambered cairn, Stenness, Mainland Orkney, Scotland	In place, on the walls of the Neolithic chamber (Historic Environment Scotland site)
Bryggen rune-sticks	N B1–N B6xx (Bryggen series)	c. 1150–1350 AD; some 14th-century	Medieval runes	Bryggen, the medieval wharf of Bergen, Vestland, Norway	Bryggens Museum, Bergen (University Museum of Bergen collections)
Kensington Runestone	—	presented in 1898; the text claims the year 1362. Scholarly consensus: carved in the 19th century	Modern (19th c.)	Olof Ohman's farm, Solem Township, Douglas County, Minnesota, USA (near Kensington)	Runestone Museum, Alexandria, Minnesota

Signa are the numbers of the Scandinavian Runic-text Database and the national corpora (DR Denmark, N Norway, Ög Östergötland, Sö Södermanland, U Uppland, G Gotland, Or Orkney).