Two Very Similar Runestones From Two Different Parts of the World


One of them is from medieval Denmark, and the other from America

by Yuri Kuchinsky

Hedeby-3 Rune Stone (Skarthi Stone), Sønderjylland [Image] Nichols Runestone from SW Wisconsin [Image]
Above, you can see the Hedeby-3 Rune Stone, also known as the "Skarthi Stone".

It is from Sønderjylland, close to the border of Denmark and Germany. It is believed to date from around 1000 AD. (While now belonging to Germany, during the middle ages this area was part of Denmark. Hedeby is also sometimes spelled as Haddeby, or Haithabu.)

Above is the Nichols Runestone, from Wisconsin, USA.

It is described by Barry J. Hanson, the webmaster of http://www.archaeologyitm.com, as "R-2 Nichols, 2X4 inches, carved into soapstone, found in SW Wisconsin".

In fact, the inscriptions on these two Runestones appear to be almost identical.

According to Hanson, up to now, this Nichols Runestone, along with quite a few similar artefacts, remains unstudied by the professional archaeologists, a notoriously lazy bunch, or so it seems...

To see some more such items, please take a look at the "photos section" of his website.

Here's yet another, much bigger image of that Danish Skarthi Stone.

And here's a German-language webpage where you can find some more background about the Skarthi Stone (if you read German!). Also, a picture of yet another Hedeby Stone (the "Eric Stone") is available there.

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