Eltang stone


The Eltang stone, is a Viking Age runestone.
The stone was discovered in 1866 at North-Stenderup, Eltang parish, Kolding Municipality, Region of Southern Denmark, Denmark, about 2 km northeast of Kolding, on the estate of one Mr. Flensbourg, who gave it to the Oldnordisk Museum.
The Danske Runeindskrifter database of the Copenhagen University's Nordisk Forskningsinstitut dates it to the later Viking Age.
It is a granite slab, measuring 66 cm high and 60 cm wide at a thickness between 4 and 10 cm. The lower right part of the slab is broken off, but the runic inscription is preserved in its entirety.
The inscription consists of nine runic horizontal staves, running top to bottom, enclosed in a frame.
The Danske Runeindskrifter database reads i??iæþik??.
The inscription is discussed in greater detail by George Stephens.
Stephens places it in the 9th century, i.e. the early phase of development of the Younger Futhark.
He interprets the five first staves as sam-staves, to be read as the same rune attached to the stave twice, and to be read twice, as it were
This results in a transcription of, read as ioþin þiki ioþin.
Stephens takes this as a reference to Woþin and he translates "O Woden receive Woden!". He notes that this is the first instance of the theonym Odin found recorded on a Scandinavian runestone.