Denmark’s oldest runes discovered on a 2,000-year-old knife

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Archaeologists in Denmark have discovered a 2,000-year-old knife that is believed to be inscribed with the oldest runic inscriptions ever discovered in the country.

The runes are inscribed in Denmark’s oldest written alphabet and were carved on an eight-centimeter iron blade found in a tomb under an urn in Tiedgenbien on the island of Fyn, east of the capital city of Odense. Ta.

“This is a really special find. It may not look like anything else. It’s a small fragment of a knife blade, now rusting. But it’s a very special find with such an early inscription. This is large because it relates to very few discoveries,” said the museum’s investigator. Written by Peter Penz, National Museum of Denmark.

The five letters are each about half a centimeter high and are followed by three grooves that spell out the word “hirira”, which means “little sword” in Old Norse.

“What, then, is the Little Sword? We interpret it as the name of a knife, but in principle it could also be the name of the exact knife’s owner 150 years after the birth of Christ. It could be,” museum inspector Jacob Bonde said.in Montergarden Museum.

The “little sword” was discovered in Tiedgenbien, east of Odense, just 15 kilometers from where a contemporary comb inscribed with the rune “Harja” was discovered in 1865.

This knife will be exhibited at the special exhibition “Little Sword” to be held in March 2019. Monter Garden Museum From February 2nd to April 7th.