Archaeologists used 3D scanning to examine inscriptions carved on two groups of Danish runestones and discovered that four of the stones were probably made in honor of a powerful Viking queen.

The first band, the Jelling Stones, was founded by Harald Bluetooth, the king believed to have founded the Danish state, in honor of his parents, Gorm and Tyra. The second group, Ravnunge-Tue Stones, also mentions a woman named Tira. The team suggested that these two groups of stones belonged to the same person. If true, the most frequently mentioned person on Danish Viking Age runestones would be Tyra.

The lead author of the study, Dr. from the National Museum of Denmark. “We wanted to see if we could find the same rune carver on some of these stones so we could combine the Ravnunge Tue stones with the Jelling stones,” says Lisbeth M. Imer. “If there was a connection, it is very likely that all the stones belonged to a single woman, Harald Bluetooth’s mother, Tyra.”

To test the validity of this theory, Dr. Ymer and a team of researchers from several institutions in Scandinavia made 3D models of the rune stones and analyzed the shape and carving technique used to carve the runes, as well as the language used. The results were published in the journal ancient ages.

The authors compared gouges carved into well-preserved runestones to identify distinctive marks made by different carvers. The similarity of the runes of the Leborz stone, one of the Ravnunge Tue stones, and the Jeling 2 stone shows that they were engraved by the same person.

Therefore, references to Thira in both groups of stones probably refer to the same person, the queen of Denmark and the mother of Harald of Bluetooth. This shows that he is a particularly powerful and famous person. She probably had land and power herself, and not just through her husband.

Dr. “No other Viking is mentioned on so many runestones in Denmark,” says Ymer, “underlining his undeniable importance in the creation of the kingdom under his son Harald Bluetooth.”

More importantly, this means that women probably had more influence in Viking Age Denmark than previously thought. This suggests that Viking women could hold power independently and rule on behalf of their husbands or young sons. It is also important for our knowledge of the formation of the Danish state.

“The combination of the present analysis and the geographical distribution of the runestones suggests that Thira was one of the key figures, if not the key figure, in the founding of the Danish kingdom,” the authors say. Source