Kylver Stone

The Kylver stone is a rune stone whose official name is G. 88. It dates from about 400 A.D. and was found on a farm at Kylver, Stånga, Gotland in 1903. The stone was a flat rock used to seal a grave and the inscription was written on the underside, and could therefore not be read from above. One theory is that the runes were believed to have had magical properties and would hinder the person in the grave from coming back, another theory is that the rock was scrap material used for practicing rune-carving.

The stone is inscribed with the earliest known sequential listing of the 24 runes of the Old Futhark. After the last rune follows an unknown spruce-like rune commonly believed to be a modified Tyr rune. At a separate space the word ᛋᚢᛚᛁᚢᛋ (sulius or sueus) is inscribed. The meaning of this latter word is unknown, but is assumed to be associated with magic. (Also note that the small inscription uses the younger futhark version of the s-rune.)

The Kylver stone was removed from Gotland and brought to the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm where it is not currently on display.

See also

• Vadstena bracteate — Another early futhark inscription.