Archaeologists studying an ancient inscription on a remote Scottish island have been left divided over whether it is a Viking engraving after its letters spelt FURKU.AL
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear word.
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland...
Viking inscription or offensive graffiti? Carving thought to be 1,300 years old seems to spell out modern swear word
An ancient inscription has been found on a remote Scottish island called Eigg
The letters spelt FURKU.AL, which is translated as 'furk yous all' or 'furk us all'
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or an ancient carving
By Abigail Beall For Mailonline
23 January 2017
Archaeologists studying an ancient inscription on a remote Scottish island have been left divided over whether it is a Viking engraving after its letters spelt FURKU.AL
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear word.
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland.
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if this inscription is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear words
The resident was cleaning the drains by the side of his home when he stumbled across the mysterious object carrying the old language of the Vikings, who had first settled on Eigg somewhere around the 8th century.
The Scandinavian variants of runic languages are also known as futhark or fuþark - derived from their first six letters of the alphabet: F, U, Þ, A, R, and K.
Camille Dressler, chair of Eigg History Society, sent a photograph of the stone to Historic Environment Scotland.
John Borland, HES measured survey manager, was so intrigued that he asked a few colleagues.
'I have consulted with several people who are much more expert than I am on the subject of runic inscriptions and here is a digest of our thoughts,' he said.
'My reading of the inscription was furkusal. Whilst this might be a recognisable Norse name, I thought it more likely that it was a humorous (attempted, anyway) play on words.
'Furk equalling the obvious expletive, similar to the way someone might say/write frock off or feck off. Plus, the early futhark alphabet does not have the letter C.
'Us could be read as "us" but I thought it might be the west-of-Scotland vernacular "yous", meaning you plural.
'Al reading as "all", the missing second L due perhaps to a lack of space. 'So furk us all or furk yous all.'
Dr Ragnhild Ljosland, who lectures at the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands, Orkney, also read it as 'either furkusal or furku.al'.
'She couldn't identify this as a recognisable name and wondered if it might be a futhark inscription, where lines or parts of the futhark alphabet are carved,' said Mr Borland.
'However it doesn't really work as that either. She also noted that the A rune is slightly unusual in its form, differing from the A of the early futhark alphabet. Whilst reluctant to absolutely right it off as being modern, she couldn't really confirm it as genuinely Norse.
'Professor Henrik Williams, who teaches at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, was also unwilling to absolutely declare the inscription modern although he could not identify the name as Norse and didn't like the form of some of the runes, particularly the R.'
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland (shown on map). The resident was cleaning the drains by the side of his home when he stumbled across the mysterious object carrying the old language of the Vikings
Professor Michael Barnes from University College London - one of the leading authorities on Norse inscriptions in the British Isles - believed the answer lay closer to home.
'He was more definite in saying that he thinks it unlikely to be very old, due to layout, form of runes and the size of stone bearing the inscription,' said Mr Borland.
'He offered an interesting alternative reading of furkuson, being an attempt to phonetically represent the Scottish surname Farquharson.
'It might be worth investigating if the house where the stone was found was ever occupied by someone of that name.
'So I think it's fair to say that, on balance, even the expert opinion is tending towards uncertain at best but probably not genuinely Norse.
'Having said that, someone in the future might arrive at a different conclusion so don't go chucking it out. At the very least it's an interesting piece of social history.
'I hope to get back out to the island soon to record a couple of early crosses which have appeared in the last year or two and I would like to see and record this stone, too.'
Ms Dressler said the researchers so far could not definitely confirm if it was either modern or Norse.
'The letters puzzled the experts. So the mystery remains to be solved - did somebody with a knowledge of the runic alphabet have a go at carving it for fun or is it Viking?
'Whoever did it must have been motivated because it would have taken a long time to carve out the letters from hard pitchstone!
'There is plenty of evidence of Viking settlement on Eigg - in its place names, burial sites etc - so who knows?'
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear word.
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland...
Viking inscription or offensive graffiti? Carving thought to be 1,300 years old seems to spell out modern swear word
An ancient inscription has been found on a remote Scottish island called Eigg
The letters spelt FURKU.AL, which is translated as 'furk yous all' or 'furk us all'
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or an ancient carving
By Abigail Beall For Mailonline
23 January 2017
Archaeologists studying an ancient inscription on a remote Scottish island have been left divided over whether it is a Viking engraving after its letters spelt FURKU.AL
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if it is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear word.
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland.
Experts cannot make up their minds for certain if this inscription is a modern expletive or a carving over 1,300 years old that has by chance formed the brusque swear words
The resident was cleaning the drains by the side of his home when he stumbled across the mysterious object carrying the old language of the Vikings, who had first settled on Eigg somewhere around the 8th century.
The Scandinavian variants of runic languages are also known as futhark or fuþark - derived from their first six letters of the alphabet: F, U, Þ, A, R, and K.
Camille Dressler, chair of Eigg History Society, sent a photograph of the stone to Historic Environment Scotland.
John Borland, HES measured survey manager, was so intrigued that he asked a few colleagues.
'I have consulted with several people who are much more expert than I am on the subject of runic inscriptions and here is a digest of our thoughts,' he said.
'My reading of the inscription was furkusal. Whilst this might be a recognisable Norse name, I thought it more likely that it was a humorous (attempted, anyway) play on words.
'Furk equalling the obvious expletive, similar to the way someone might say/write frock off or feck off. Plus, the early futhark alphabet does not have the letter C.
'Us could be read as "us" but I thought it might be the west-of-Scotland vernacular "yous", meaning you plural.
'Al reading as "all", the missing second L due perhaps to a lack of space. 'So furk us all or furk yous all.'
Dr Ragnhild Ljosland, who lectures at the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands, Orkney, also read it as 'either furkusal or furku.al'.
'She couldn't identify this as a recognisable name and wondered if it might be a futhark inscription, where lines or parts of the futhark alphabet are carved,' said Mr Borland.
'However it doesn't really work as that either. She also noted that the A rune is slightly unusual in its form, differing from the A of the early futhark alphabet. Whilst reluctant to absolutely right it off as being modern, she couldn't really confirm it as genuinely Norse.
'Professor Henrik Williams, who teaches at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, was also unwilling to absolutely declare the inscription modern although he could not identify the name as Norse and didn't like the form of some of the runes, particularly the R.'
The runic inscription was found on a stone by a resident of the Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland (shown on map). The resident was cleaning the drains by the side of his home when he stumbled across the mysterious object carrying the old language of the Vikings
Professor Michael Barnes from University College London - one of the leading authorities on Norse inscriptions in the British Isles - believed the answer lay closer to home.
'He was more definite in saying that he thinks it unlikely to be very old, due to layout, form of runes and the size of stone bearing the inscription,' said Mr Borland.
'He offered an interesting alternative reading of furkuson, being an attempt to phonetically represent the Scottish surname Farquharson.
'It might be worth investigating if the house where the stone was found was ever occupied by someone of that name.
'So I think it's fair to say that, on balance, even the expert opinion is tending towards uncertain at best but probably not genuinely Norse.
'Having said that, someone in the future might arrive at a different conclusion so don't go chucking it out. At the very least it's an interesting piece of social history.
'I hope to get back out to the island soon to record a couple of early crosses which have appeared in the last year or two and I would like to see and record this stone, too.'
Ms Dressler said the researchers so far could not definitely confirm if it was either modern or Norse.
'The letters puzzled the experts. So the mystery remains to be solved - did somebody with a knowledge of the runic alphabet have a go at carving it for fun or is it Viking?
'Whoever did it must have been motivated because it would have taken a long time to carve out the letters from hard pitchstone!
'There is plenty of evidence of Viking settlement on Eigg - in its place names, burial sites etc - so who knows?'
THE VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY: TIMELINE
789AD Vikings begin their attacks on England, moving to Ireland around 800 AD
794 AD Vikings invaded Scotland, starting in the Isle of Iona
840AD Viking settlers found the city of Dublin in Ireland
844AD Vikings raid Seville but are repulsed
860AD Rus Vikings attack Constantinople
866AD York is captured by a Viking army
870AD Vikings colonise Iceland
981AD Erik the Red discovers Greenland
986AD Bjarni Herjolfsson sights North America after being blown off course
1002AD Leif Ericsson, son of Erik the Red, explores the coast of North America, named them Karland, Helluland and Vinland
1492AD Italian explorer Christopher Columbus lands in the New World when he stumbles across the islands now known as The Bahamas
Ancient carving on Eigg spells out modern swear word | Daily Mail Online
789AD Vikings begin their attacks on England, moving to Ireland around 800 AD
794 AD Vikings invaded Scotland, starting in the Isle of Iona
840AD Viking settlers found the city of Dublin in Ireland
844AD Vikings raid Seville but are repulsed
860AD Rus Vikings attack Constantinople
866AD York is captured by a Viking army
870AD Vikings colonise Iceland
981AD Erik the Red discovers Greenland
986AD Bjarni Herjolfsson sights North America after being blown off course
1002AD Leif Ericsson, son of Erik the Red, explores the coast of North America, named them Karland, Helluland and Vinland
1492AD Italian explorer Christopher Columbus lands in the New World when he stumbles across the islands now known as The Bahamas
Ancient carving on Eigg spells out modern swear word | Daily Mail Online
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