{"id":20197,"date":"2023-06-22T11:11:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T09:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.niku.no\/?p=20197"},"modified":"2023-06-22T11:11:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T09:11:49","slug":"medieval-gaming-piece-with-runic-inscription-found-in-trondheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.niku.no\/en\/2023\/06\/medieval-gaming-piece-with-runic-inscription-found-in-trondheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Medieval gaming piece with runic inscription found in Trondheim"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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\r\n\t\t\t\tNot just decoration <\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\tThe pattern on the soapstone object are runes. Photo: Dag-\u00d8yvind Engtr\u00f8 Solem, The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t

Medieval gaming piece with runic inscription found in Trondheim<\/h1>\r\n\t\t
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Archaeology<\/a> —<\/span> Runes<\/a> —<\/span> Trondheim<\/a><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t
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When archaeologists from The Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research conducted a last-minute excavation in Medieval Trondheim last year due to a broken sewer pipe, a surprise find was made. A soapstone gaming piece bearing a runic inscription.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t

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Much of the remains of medieval Trondheim have been excavated or otherwise removed many years ago, but there is still plenty left. Due to the broken sewer pipe, a four-metre-long strip of these historic layers had to be excavated \u2013 and it turned out to contain more than anticipated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cUnderneath what appeared to be a stretch of timbers from a street was a deep pit. The bottom of this pit, four metres below today\u2019s surface, had a layer of birch bark that has been dated 1000-1150 AD. A sample from a layer of charcoal near the top of the pit has been dated to 1030-1180 AD. These date the pit to the end of the Viking age or the early Medieval period in Norway\u201d, says archaeologist Dag-\u00d8yvind Engtr\u00f8 Solem<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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There were many finds discovered in the layers between these two. Among them was the beautiful gaming piece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWe saw the gaming piece at the same time, and we got really excited\u201d, says archaeologist Guro Skogvold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Not only was the small object decorated with carvings resembling a flower pattern \u2013 some of them looked like they could be runes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Below today’s surface<\/span>Archaeologist Dag-\u00d8yvind Engtr\u00f8 Solem in the pit where the gaming piece was found, almost four meters below the modern surface. Photo: Audun B. Selfjord, NIKU<br><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Medieval street<\/span>The gaming piece was found underneath what appears to be a medieval street. Photo: Audun B. Selfjord, NIKU. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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A brother in arms?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pictures of the object were sent to runologist Karen Langsholt Holmqvist in Oslo. She found the object so interesting that she decided to come to Trondheim to see it for herself. And she could confirm that there was indeed a runic inscription there!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cAt first glance, what you see is an uneven geometrical pattern, something that may look like a snowflake. But when I examined the game piece closer, I saw that some of the lines were carefully planned runes\u201d, says Langsholt Holmqvist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cConsidering that the inscription follows the curve of the piece, the runes are bent and not immediately easy to see. But there is no doubt that these are runes\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Since the rest of the object was decorated with similar lines, the inscription was almost hidden. Maybe that was the point. And what does the inscription say?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Not random<\/span>The pattern is not just decoration, but runes. Photo: NIKU<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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<strong>siggsifr<\/strong><\/span>The runes are marked in red. They spell out a previously unknown name, Sigs\u00edfr. Photo: NIKU<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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\u201cThe runes are actually easy to read once you see them\u201d, says Langsholt Holmqvist. \u201cThey spell out siggsifr<\/strong>, which is almost certainly a previously unknown name, Sigs\u00edfr. Norse names are often combined by two parts, and Sig- is a quite common first part. We know it both from male and female first names, such as Sigbj\u00f8rn and Sigurd, or Sigfrid and Sigrid. The second part, -s\u00edf, is previously only known from a couple of female names, Hildisif and Silkisif. But here it ends with an -r, which likely makes this a male name\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe combination of these parts might not be random. The first part means victory <\/em>or battle<\/em>, and the second part could mean brother<\/em>. This might be a previously unknown name, meaning something like \u2018Brother in Arms\u2019. Was this the name of the owner of the gaming piece, or the person making the inscription?\u201d, concludes Langsholt Holmqvist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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