900-year old Viking runes finally solved

[Green Arrow]

via Forskning.no

Translating the relevant portions:

Hvorfor brukte vikingene koder når de skrev runer? Var det hemmelige budskap eller andre grunner til at de krypterte runetekstene sine? Det vet forskerne fortsatt lite om.Men runolog K. Jonas Nordby tror han kan være ett skritt nærmere løsningen. Runeeksperten har klart å tolke en kode som forskerne i mange år har klødd seg i hodet over, kalt jötunvillur.


Funnet kan hjelpe forskerne med å forstå hensikten med kodene.


– Det er som å løse en gåte, sier Nordby.


– Etter hvert begynte jeg å se et mønster i det som tilsynelatende var meningsløse sammensetninger av runetegn, sier han.

English:

Why did the Vikings use codes when they wrote the runes? Was there a secret message, or other reasons, like the encrypted runes were lyrics? The scientists still know little about these ancient runes.

But runologist K. Jonas Nordby thinks he may be one step closer to the solution. The rune expert has managed to interpret a code that scientists for years have scratched their heads over, called jötunvillur.


The discovery could help scientists understand the purpose of the codes.


- It's like solving a puzzle, said Nordby.


- Gradually I began to see a pattern in what was apparently meaningless combinations of runes, he said.

For years, runologists and historians have tried to decode the runes. Turns out, the message reads simply "Kiss me."

[waltky]

Was prob'ly one o' Granny's great-great-grandmothers...

Scientists Say DNA Tests Show Viking Warrior Was Female
September 11, 2017 — Scientists say DNA tests on a skeleton found in a lavish Viking warrior's grave in Sweden show the remains are those of a woman in her 30s.

While bone experts had long suspected the remains belong to a woman, the idea had previously been dismissed despite other accounts supporting the existence of female Viking warriors. Swedish researchers used new methods to analyze genetic material from the 1,000-year-old bones at a Viking-era site known as Birka, near Stockholm.

A DNA double helix is seen in an undated artist's illustration released by the National Human Genome Research Institute

Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson of Uppsala University said Monday the tests show "it is definitely a woman." Hedenstierna-Jonson said the grave is particularly well-furnished, with a sword, shields, various other weapons and horses.


Writing in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the researchers say it's the first confirmed remains of a high-ranking female Viking warrior.


https://www.voanews.com/a/dna-female...g/4024030.html

[Croft]

I don't know why people had such a problem believing there were female viking warriors. I'm sure there were as many large lesbians back then as there are today.