This runestone, designated as U 705 in the
Rundata
The Scandinavian Runic-text Database () is a project involving the creation and maintenance of a database of transliterated runic inscriptions. The project's goal is to comprehensively catalog runestones in a machine-readable way for future resea ...
catalog, is located at Mobacka in
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
The name literally ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
Description
This runestone was depicted by
Johan Hadorph during the 17th century. The stone later disappeared, but was recovered in 1926 when it was discovered that it had been used as a miller's stone. Many runestones were used as building materials for buildings, roads, bridges, and other uses before their historic significance was understood.
The runestone is signed by the
runemaster
A runemaster or runecarver is a specialist in making runestones.
Description
More than 100 names of runemasters are known from Viking Age Sweden with most of them from 11th-century eastern Svealand.The article ''Runristare'' in ''Nationalencyklo ...
Balle, who was active in Sweden in the second half of the 11th century. It is classified as being carved in
runestone style
:''The term "runestone style" in the singular may refer to the Urnes style.''
The style or design of runestones varied during the Viking Age. The early runestones were simple in design, but towards the end of the runestone era they became increas ...
Pr3,
also known as the
Urnes style
Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Vikings, Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th ...
. This runestone style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animal heads are typically seen in profile with slender almond-shaped eyes and upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks.
Inscription
A transliteration of the runic inscription into roman letters is:
:
ulaifr * tuk hiulmfastr * au... ...u- auk* (e)(n)
brantr* þair * litu *
aisa * st)ain *
�... ...ui-... bali * ri...''
See also
*
List of runestones
There are about 3,000 runestones in Scandinavia (out of a total of about 6,000 runic inscriptions). p. 38.
The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia:
The majority are found in Sweden, estimated at between 1,700 and 2,500 (depending ...
References
{{coord, 59.5409, N, 17.3543, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Uppland Runic Inscription 0705