The Setre Comb is a bone comb found in 1932 at Setre in Bømlo, Norway, which has been dated to between 560 and 700 AD. It has a

runic inscription A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of El ...

whose interpretation has been extensively discussed. The comb, listed as N KJ40 in the

Rundata The Scandinavian Runic-text Data Base ( sv, Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way f ...

catalog, was discovered in 1932 during archaeological investigation of an ancient refuse heap on the beach at the foot of a cliff in the Sætre (or Setre) fjord on the island of Bømlo, and is now in the collection of the Bergen Museum. Based on the find circumstances in relation to deposition strata, it was dated by

Haakon Shetelig Haakon Shetelig (June 25, 1877 – July 22, 1955) was a Norwegian archaeologist, historian and museum director. He was a pioneer in archaeology known for his study of art from the Viking era in Norway. He is most frequently associated with ...

and later by Birger Nerman to the second half of the 7th century; pp. 455-456. Egil Bakka has suggested that the assumption the comb can be dated to when it entered the refuse heap is invalid and it should instead be dated on typological grounds, which might mean it is as early as 575 AD, or possibly 8th-century. Rundata provides a dating to 560/570-600, from 2007. The inscription features a mixture of

Elder Futhark The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Peri ...

and Younger Futhark runes. There are three rows of text, but it is unclear in what direction it is to be read, or whether all rows are to be read in the same direction. The comb is a subject of study by runologists since most experts agree in reading the Germanic

charm Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Ch ...

word '' alu'' and the name

Nanna Nanna may refer to: *Grandmother Mythology * Sin (mythology), god of the moon in Sumerian mythology, also called Suen * Nanna (Norse deity), goddess associated with the god Baldr in Norse mythology * Nana Buluku, Fon/Dahomey androgynous deity cre ...

in the inscription, although it is uncertain whether the name refers to the goddess who is known from later attestations. The inscription reads: :hᴀl mᴀz ¶ mᴀ unᴀ ¶ ᴀlu na ᴀlu nanᴀ One suggested transcription into Old Norse: :Hǫll mær ma una, ǫllu naa, ǫllu nenna. Corresponding English translation: :Leaning maiden may repose, attain everything, be pleased with everything. However, this ignores the reading of the charm word '' alu''. Several other interpretations have been proposed;The Kieler RunenProjekt list
eight interpretations
of the inscription. no interpretation has been generally accepted.

References and notes

External links

Photograph of the comb
Alu (runic) Archaeology of Norway Germanic paganism Germanic archaeological artifacts Runic inscriptions {{Europe-archaeology-stub