Across Sweden, ancient rune stones stand quietly in fields, near churches, and along roads. Many people pass them without a ...

The ancient runic alphabet, used by Germanic peoples centuries ago prior to the adoption of the Latin alphabet, remains one of the most enigmatic early writing systems. Chief among its mysteries is ...

A Concise History breaks off these later accretions and unearths their long history. Runes’ primary function as an alphabetic writing system is underlined throughout, as part of the ‘uphill battle’ ...

We all know which star sign we were born under. With its 12 signs of the zodiac, conventional astrology has long dominated our reading of the heavens above. But what if other cultures had different ...

The Rök runestone in Sweden was discovered in the 1940s, and is covered with 800 runic letters. Macduff Everton/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images A new interpretation of the text engraved on one of the ...