Table of contents:
- Viking runes in Mayshow
- Viking graffiti, Maeshow, Orkney Islands, Scotland
- 12th century runes carved inside a cairn
- "Halfdan Inscription" in Hagia Sophia
Video: Where today you can see the graffiti that the Vikings painted, and what these drawings look like
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
If you look at the walls of buildings in almost any modern city, it's easy to see that they all have one thing in common: graffiti. Sometimes this street art can be quite beautiful (remember the masterpieces of the same Banksy), but more often it is just scribbles, daubs and rude messages written with spray paint or markers in public places. Usually, graffiti is considered a modern phenomenon, but if you study history, you can find all sorts of examples of societies of the past, in which people did the same. Even the harsh Vikings from time to time "sinned" graffiti, and some of their "creations" have survived to this day.
Viking runes in Mayshow
One of the richest places in Viking graffiti was the Orkney Islands, and in particular many examples of Viking graffiti were found in a place called Mayshow. Meishau, known as Orhaugr in Old Norse, is a Neolithic cairn located on Mainland Island in the Scottish Orkney Islands.
Historians estimate that Meishow was built around 2800 BC. It is one of the largest caern tombs in all of the Orkney Islands, and the monuments around it have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
Maeshow was first excavated in 1861 by James Farrer, but when his team tried to get inside, researchers found the main entrance was blocked. They had to dig their own hole right through the top of the mound. When Farrer and his team made their way inside, a stunning picture opened up in front of them - they were the first people in almost a millennium to enter this ancient place of last rest.
Viking graffiti, Maeshow, Orkney Islands, Scotland
The archaeologists saw that the walls around them were covered with markings, which on closer inspection turned out to be Viking runes. It turned out that these inscriptions did not differ much from modern graffiti: for example, some of them read "Ingigert is the most beautiful woman of all" and "Tatir-Viking came here tired of everyone."
History has it that more than eight centuries before Farrer's excavations at Meishow, a group of Viking warriors entered an old cairn to shelter from the dangerous blizzard outside. They were led by a jarl of the Orkney Islands named Harald Maddadsson, who at that time was traveling from Stromness to Firth with his men.
The Orkney saga tells the story of another Viking leader, Jarl Rengwald Eysteinsson and his warriors, who also stayed in Meishow. Both of these groups decided to leave their mark on the walls by carving runic messages in stone, much like modern humans do.
12th century runes carved inside a cairn
Interestingly, the Orkney saga also spoke of the treasures hidden in Meishow. Although rumors have circulated for centuries, the mystery has remained a mystery. One of the verses said: "I was told that treasures are very well hidden here," in another - that "a great treasure is hidden in the northwest."
"Halfdan Inscription" in Hagia Sophia
About 30 runic inscriptions have been found at Meishow, which is one of the largest finds of its kind in all of Europe, but Viking graffiti is found elsewhere. Another classic example on display at the National Museum of Denmark is the world famous Hagia Sophia Mosque in Turkey. A couple of Vikings apparently visited this mosque and wrote their names (Halvdan and Are) in runes on one of its walls.
Today, many people who are not indifferent to history are wondering, what the Vikings really were, and how to determine the inclinations of the Vikings … And scientists are ready to answer these questions.
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