Rune suggests Galloway Hoard belonged to community

Leading runologist Dr David Parsons of the University of Wales who has previously translated other runic inscriptions from the Galloway Hoard said it was a “difficult and unusual inscription”.

“There are a number of things which are technically ‘wrong’ when we compare it with what we know about ‘correct’ runic writing,” he said.

“However, if we think about both spoken and written English today, there are a huge range of regional and idiomatic variations and, if we allow for this, then it becomes possible to accept this as a plausible reading.

“And in the context of what can deduce about the Galloway Hoard it becomes really quite compelling.”

The finding comes at the end of a three-year research project into the hoard.

The arm ring will be on display at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide as part of the touring exhibition which opens on Saturday.