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