A sign of sophistication

A sign of sophistication
The finds demonstrate the spread of literacy. "As more finds like this are discovered," says Williams, "it becomes more likely that a significant proportion of the population in the Viking Age could read and write."
"In terms of popular perceptions of the Vikings today, that is quite surprising," he adds, "but perhaps no more than the fact that Viking combs are extremely common, indicating that the Vikings liked to keep their hair neat and tidy."
Archaeologists inspect the geological layers at the Ribe excavation site
Archaeologists inspect the geological layers at the Ribe excavation site
The location of the runes is also significant. Lisbeth Imer, rune expert from the National Museum of Denmark, who was invited to study the artifacts, says that though they may not display long messages, "the fact that two messages have been found in close proximity to each other (and just a few meters away from an 8th century inscription discovered back in the 1970s) tells us that runes were very much used."