Newly translated runes shed ‘compelling’ new light on who owned Galloway Hoard

A recently translated runic inscription has shed “compelling” caller airy connected who mightiness person owned the Galloway Hoard, experts person announced.

The Viking Age hoard, which contains much than 5kg of gold, metallic and different materials, was discovered by a metallic detectorist successful Balmaghie, adjacent Kirkcudbright, successful 2014.

Since past the question of who owned the hoard has remained a mystery.

A fig of theories person been enactment forward, with immoderate suggesting it mightiness person been buried by 4 owners, based connected 4 limb rings inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes.

The thought that the wealthiness this hoard represents would beryllium communally held is fascinating

Martin Goldberg, National Museums Scotland

Three of the inscriptions diagnostic Old English sanction elements, but the 4th and longest inscription has confounded experts, and remained undeciphered arsenic determination was nary recognisable nonstop translation.

However researchers astatine National Museums Scotland (NMS) who person been studying the hoard person projected a caller translation for the 4th inscription: “This is the community’s wealth/property.”

Martin Goldberg, astatine NMS, said the translation marked a “significant improvement successful our knowing of the Galloway Hoard”.

“The thought that the wealthiness this hoard represents would beryllium communally held is fascinating,” helium said.

“It does inactive permission america with unanswered questions astir the circumstances successful which a community’s wealthiness would travel to beryllium buried, and besides which peculiar community.

“Some worldly wrong the hoard, specified arsenic the pectoral transverse and the stone crystal jar made for a Bishop Hyguald, would enactment this being a spiritual community.”

The breakthrough came erstwhile researchers realised that the runic inscription carved wrong the curved fractional of the limb ring, speechmaking DIS IS IIGNA F, mightiness beryllium “technically ‘wrong'”.

The main issue, they said, was the connection “IIGNAF”, which did not correspond to immoderate connection spoken successful aboriginal medieval Britain oregon Ireland.

The find that the last rune, F, was marked retired with puncts, oregon dots, to either side, indicating it could beryllium understood arsenic the sanction of the F-rune itself “feoh” (wealth oregon property), unlocked the caller translation.

The researchers said “IIGNA” could past beryllium interpreted arsenic the Old English connection “higna” (community) with the archetypal missive spelled successful an antithetic but comprehensible way.

They added that the connection “DIS” besides seems to beryllium misspelled – but that it apt means “this”, with the “Th” being pronounced arsenic a “D” arsenic is the lawsuit successful parts of modern Ireland.

Despite these evident mistakes, the researchers said the afloat inscription tin truthful beryllium translated arsenic “This is the community’s wealth/property”, adding that the connection “higna” is often utilized elsewhere successful Anglo-Saxon documents to bespeak a spiritual community.

If we deliberation astir some spoken and written English today, determination are a immense scope of determination and idiomatic variations and, if we let for this, past it becomes imaginable to judge this arsenic a plausible reading

Dr David Parsons, University of Wales

Runologist Dr David Parsons, from the University of Wales, who has antecedently translated different runic inscriptions from the hoard, said the evident mistakes could beryllium accounted for by “variations” successful the mode runes were used.

“This is simply a hard and antithetic inscription, and the projected translation is challenging,” helium said.

“There are a fig of things which are technically ‘wrong’ erstwhile we comparison it with what we cognize astir ‘correct’ runic writing.

“However, if we deliberation astir some spoken and written English today, determination are a immense scope of determination and idiomatic variations and, if we let for this, past it becomes imaginable to judge this arsenic a plausible reading.

“And successful the discourse of what (we) tin deduce astir the Galloway Hoard it becomes truly rather compelling.”

The caller uncovering comes astatine the decision of a three-year probe task called Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard, which was supported by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Christopher Smith, president of the AHRC, said: “It has been fascinating to spot the succession of important discoveries implicit the beingness of the Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard project, from the exotic origins of immoderate of its prima pieces to the beingness of named individuals and present this latest breathtaking discovery.”

The limb ringing volition beryllium connected show astatine the South Australian Museum successful Adelaide arsenic portion of a caller planetary touring exhibition, Treasures Of The Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard, which opens connected Saturday.

Further venues for the planetary circuit are acceptable to beryllium announced successful owed course, arsenic good arsenic plans for the hoard’s aboriginal show aft the tour’s conclusion, including successful Kirkcudbright, adjacent wherever it was discovered.