Ribe skull fragment


The Ribe skull fragment is a section of human skull bone inscribed with runes and unearthed in 1973 in an archaeological excavation at Ribe, Denmark. It dates to circa 725 CE.

Description

The skull fragment is approximately 6 x 8.5 cm in size and has been taken from the top of a cranium. It has a hole bored in it and it is inscribed with transitional younger futhark runes. The runic inscription retains two characters from the elder futhark, ᚺ and ᛗ.
These transliterate as:
A possible interpretation of the inscription is:
Where "Ulfr" may refer to the wolf Fenrir, "Odin" to the god Odin, "High-tiur" to the god Týr and "Buri" to the god Búri. It has been suggested that the existence of a hole in the fragment may indicate its use as an amulet. However, there is a general lack of wear of the type that would be expected if it had been used in this way.