A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – The Björketorp Runestone in Blekinge, Sweden, is a part of a burial floor with menhirs standing alone and forming stone circles.
Dated to about 400-700 AD, the standing stone has by no means been moved, so it stays in its unique place.
Björketorp Runestone in Blekinge, Sweden. Image credit score: Joachim Bowin – CC BY-SA 3.0
Perhaps it isn’t so unusual that the Björketorp Stone stays in its unique place.
Who dares to maneuver a stone the place there’s a curse engraved with runes?
Rune-magic formulation had been frequent within the Viking Age. The curse components on the Björketorp Runestone says that ‘ “whosoever breaks down or in any means ‘disturbs the holy web site is cursed unto demise by the misleading energy of the runemaster.” The magical means had been utilized by the unknown runemaster to file on this stone the demise sentence and to warn.
The runestone stands within the forest clearing on the sting of an enormous, outdated burial floor, and is accompanied by two different barely decrease menhirs with no inscriptions. No doubt, the three of them type Sweden’s spectacular landmark.
A burial floor – consisting of 11 clearly seen historic stays – dates to the Iron Age. In addition, close by, there are additionally two-judge rings, a spherical and a four-sided stone setting, and 7 decrease raised stones. The web site is positioned on the intersection of three villages Listerby, Björketorp, and Leråkra.
The curse-like inscription covers one of many world’s tallest runestones, measuring 4.2 m. One can say the stone just isn’t solely the tallest but additionally mysterious due to the textual content it tries to convey.
Björketorpsstenen (Björketorp Stone) at Björketorp, in Ronneby, Blekinge, Sweden – Image credit score: – CC BY-SA 3.0
The runestone and the 2 others had been already talked about within the fifteenth century. They specifically served as a boundary mark between the three parishes of Edestad, Listerby, and Hjortsberga. At that point, they had been known as” Galta Stene.”
It’s value mentioning that the three menhirs we discuss are the so-called “bautastenarna” (Bauta Stones). Bauta (in prehistoric (Old Norse) means upright memorial stone with out inscription. The phrase is now not an archaeological time period, however right this moment means ‘upright stone.’
Only one of many three bauta stones bears a runic inscription created from runes belonging to the older Runic row. In Blekinge, a minimum of 5 such historic runestones are recognized and are dated to the fifth – sixth AD. The inscription on the Björketorp Runestone has no private identify.
Unknown Author Of Curse-Liked Inscription
An unknown prehistoric artisan lined the stone with an inscription, utilizing the oldest type of the runic alphabet, the Elder Futhark (150 – 800 AD), with 24 runes.
The Elder Futhark Runic alphabet was a writing system utilized by Germanic folks for Northwest Germanic dialects through the Migration Period (300–800 AD) and even later. From the 2nd to the tenth centuries, inscriptions had been discovered on numerous historic artifacts, together with amulets, jewellery, weapons, instruments, and runestones in Scandinavia.
The Runestone of Björketorp additionally accommodates a mysterious “curse,” which doesn’t promise nicely for a person who has issues in his thoughts.
The stone was most likely meant to safeguard the burial floor from grave robbers.
The inscription reads: Obverse: hAidz * runo • ronu • fAlAhAk • hAiderA • ginArunAz • ArAgeu • hAerAmAlAusz •utiAz • welAdAude • sAz • þAt • bArutz Obverse: uþArAbA * sbA
It interprets as follows:” Mysterious, highly effective runes I carved right here. Powerful runes. Eternal anger ought to torment The One who desecrates this monument. He is to die a homesick demise. I communicate his doom.”
The Runestone stands on a burial floor in Björketorp, Listerby Parish, Ronneby municipality, Blekinge, Sweden. Image credit score: Achird – CC BY-SA 3.0
Another little totally different translation is:
“The secret of mighty runes I hid right here, highly effective runes. Whoever breaks this memorial shall be continuously plagued by anger. Treacherous demise ought to hit him. I hint corruption…”
On the again of the stone is written::
“Sinister prophecy” (or” Ominous prophecy.”
It is an outdated curse that was as soon as known as “galder.”
The function of this runic inscription has lengthy been debated. Scholars will not be in settlement on the aim of the Runestone.
The Björketorp runestone (DR 360) in Listerby parish, Ronneby municipality, Blekinge, Sweden. Woodcut by Evald Hansen (1840–1920), determine 302 on Page 211 of Sweden’s hednatid (1877) by Oscar Montelius. Public Domain
It has been urged that the Runestone is grave and that the curse is meant to guard it. However, in 1914, archaeological excavations didn’t current any finds related with the runestone or neighboring stone circle. Also uncertain is whether or not the Björketorp Stone is a grave or a so-called Cenotaph, i.e., a burial facility for an individual whose stays have been misplaced or buried elsewhere.
One concept is that the Björketorp Stones in Blekinge stand on an outdated cult web site from the 600s devoted to the god Odin (or fertility). Another chance is that the standing stone as soon as marked a border between the Swedes and the Danes.
Even right this moment, we all know little concerning the Björketorp Stone in Blekinge.
Additionally, we are able to add that On the ridge additional north within the space, there are lots of historic stays from each the Bronze and Iron Ages. These findings attest to a wealthy historic settlement. In a gravel pit straight east of the burial floor, archaeologists discovered a funerary urn subsequent to a remnant stone. The useless man was burned, and his bones had been positioned within the urn.
A sword, spear, and knife had been discovered subsequent to him in his tomb.
Written by – A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
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Expand for references
References:
Hofberg Herman, Genom Sveriges bygderKarlén, L. Runstenar i Sverige
The Swedish National Heritage Board (Swedish: Riksantikvarieämbetet; RAÄ)
Barddal, Jóhanna: Björketorpstenens “utiar weladaude”. Sydsvenska ortnamnssällskapets årsskrift 1998
