Einang stone, Norse runestone in Vestre Slidre Municipality, Norway
The Einang stone is a runestone standing about 2 meters (6 feet) tall, carved from schist rock with runic symbols inscribed during the Viking Age. It sits within the Gardbergfeltet archaeological area, which contains around 550 burial mounds and numerous Iron Age artifacts.
Dating to around 300 AD, this stone holds the oldest runic inscription ever found in Northwestern Europe, written in Elder Futhark script. This early written record shows how established the writing tradition was in the region at that time.
The inscription reads 'I Godguest wrote the runes' and shows direct evidence of how people communicated through writing in early Norwegian society. When you visit, you can see how individuals left their personal marks and messages for future generations.
The stone sits in an open area within the Gardbergfeltet complex and is easy to access, surrounded by walking paths between the burial mounds. Plan to spend time walking through the archaeological site to grasp the full scope of the location.
Scientific analysis of the stone and surrounding materials confirms it as the earliest example of written Norwegian language discovered to date. This discovery changed how scholars understand when writing culture became established in Scandinavia.
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