Study › Runes & Norse › The Kylver Stone
The Kylver Stone from Gotland, Sweden, about 400 CE, holds the oldest complete row of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, carved where no living eye would see it.
What is the Kylver Stone?
The Kylver Stone was discovered in 1903 during the excavation of a cemetery at Kylver Farm on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Dating to around 400 CE, it is approximately 1,600 years old. The limestone grave slab measures about 105 × 75 cm. Its exact weight has not been published, but it weighs several hundred kilograms, as expected for a limestone slab of this size. The stone is famous for containing the earliest complete inscription of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, carved on the underside of the grave cover, where it was hidden from view after burial. It is now preserved in the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.
Read the Elder Futhark and the order of the runes.
Questions
Where is the Kylver Stone?
In the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.
Why was the futhark carved out of sight?
It was on the underside of a grave cover, hidden after the burial.