The lost rune stone of Heby has been recreated.

Many thanks for
the translation to:
Michèle Maurer www.micmaug.com

Around 1040 AD, rune master Erik was commissioned to carve the stone which is nowadays known as U 1173.

Once the rune stone was ready, it was raised in the area that today is the town of Morgongåva in Heby County, Uppland, Sweden.

The man who had commissioned the rune stone was called Ari, and the rune inscription was in memory of his father Hjälm.

Runic inscription:

  Ari reste stenen efter Hjälm fader sin. Gud hjälpe anden hans.

  Ari raised this stone in memory of Hjälm, his father. May God help his soul.

The ornamentation resembles the ones of Erik’s earlier work. There is a large, prominent cross, a snake seen from above, and the A- and N-runes are carved as short-twig runes which are a simplified variation of long-branch runes.

What differs are two additional crosses, one in the upper right corner on the front of the stone and one on the rough right-hand edge of the stone. Both crosses are clumsily executed and badly positioned.

My interpretation: the crosses have been added later, by someone else.

Year 1787
Sir Alexander Seton, who lived in the area, decided to give the rune stone to his friends in Scotland as a gift. Once the stone arrived in Scotland, it was displayed alongside other antiquities but came to stand forgotten close to Edinburgh castle after a while. In Sweden, the stone was presumed to be “lost”.

In the middle of the the 20th century, Johan Nordenfalk rediscovered the runestone close to Edinburgh castle.

Year 2012
Linda Silja and Mats Köbin, two passionate culture bearers in Heby County, wished for the rune stone to be returned to its original place but realised that this would be very difficult if not impossible. Instead, they got in touch with me, Kalle Runristare, rune master by trade, and asked me to come up with ideas for a copy/reconstruction.
Finding a solution took time, but in the end of 2013, a contract was signed. At the same time as the work on the stone began, Mats started a fund-raising group on
Facebook: Hebys “nya” runsten >

Year 2013
In order to do a good job, I needed to see the original stone in Edinburgh.
In December 2013, I travelled there to document the stone and to get to know it in detail.
Read more about the trip here >

Year 2014
During the spring of 2014, adequate material was ordered from the stonemasonry at Vätö. During the summer of the same year, a detailed reconstruction of Erik’s rune stone was carved.
Read more about the process here >

20th of August 2014
Hebys “nya” runsten, The “New” Runestone of Heby, was inaugurated.

Year 2015
This website was uploaded containing new research and theories about all of Erik’s
work known today, and descriptions of his work based on the ornamentation he used.

In order to do a good job, I needed to see the original stone in Edinburgh.
 

Morgongåva in Heby County, Uppland, Sweden