Engraving on 2,000-year-old knife thought to be oldest runes in Denmark

Inscription on knife discovered by archaeologist in grave on island of Funen spells hirila, which means ‘little sword’

An engraving on an almost 2,000-year-old knife believed to be the oldest runes ever found in Denmark has been discovered by archaeologists.

The runic inscription – the alphabet of Denmark’s earliest written language – was etched into an 8cm iron knifefound in a grave below an urn near the city of Odense on the island of Funen. The five characters, each about 0.5 cm tall, followed by three grooves, spell out hirila, which means “little sword” in Old Norse.