Artikelen

DE RUNENINSCRIPTIE VAN DOIJUM (FR.): ECHT OF VALS?

Auteurs

  • Tineke Looijenga

Samenvatting

In 1970 a sheep's metatarsus from the village of Doijum was offered to the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden. It showed two types of engraved ornaments and possibly a runic inscription. A perforation was present in one extremity of the bone. Doubts regarding the authenticity of the runic inscription arose almost immediately. Dr. Peter Pieper, archaeologist/runologist and working at the Institut fur Rechts­medizin in Dusseldorf, underlook this autopsion by using (among other methods) ultra-violet light. His conclusions are that the scratches (ornaments and pseudo-runic inscription) are most probably of a recent date. Also the perforation was recent and therefore part of an obvious attempt at forgery. The ornamental cross with four dots also occurs on a runestick from Bryggen (Nor­way). The standard ingress symbol in many inscriptions from Bryggen is four or five dots placed in a cross pattern. The ornament on the Doijum bone may therefore be regarded as an authentic in­gress sign, but the inscriptions may be recent. The Bryggen rune finds were known some time before 1970. 

Gepubliceerd

1991-12-13

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