Runestones reveal the power of a Viking queen

[Judi Lynn]

OCTOBER 13, 2023

by Antiquity



The Læborg Runestone, one of the Ravnunge-Tue Stones. Credit: Roberto Fortuna / CC BY-SA 4.0

Archaeologists have used 3D scanning to investigate inscriptions carved on two groups of Danish runestones, revealing that four stones were likely made in dedication to a powerful Viking Queen.

The first group, the Jelling Stones, were raised by Harald Bluetooth, the king who is credited with founding the Danish state, in commemoration of his parents Gorm and Thyra. The second group, the Ravnunge-Tue Stones, also mention a woman called Thyra.

The team theorized that these two groups of stones referred to the same person. If correct, then Thyra would be the most-mentioned person on Viking-Age Danish runestones.

"We wanted to see if we could find the same rune carver on some of these stones, so that we could connect the Ravnunge-Tue stones with the Jelling stones," says lead author of the research, Dr. Lisbeth M. Imer from the National Museum of Denmark. "If there was a connection, it would be highly likely that all the stones referred to the same woman, Thyra, mother of Harald Bluetooth."

More:
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-runestones-reveal-power-viking-queen.html