Ett par runristade dirhamer i Historiska museets samlingar

Abstract

This short contribution examines the runic graffiti on two Kufic coins from the col­lec­tions of the Historical Museum in Stockholm. One of the coins origi­nates from a hoard found in the year 1900 at Mannegårde in Lye parish on Got­land; the second is unprovenanced. Both coins were struck in the begin­ning of the tenth century. The rune forms can be assigned to the short-twig futhark and indi­cate that the runic graffiti belong to the same century. The in­scrip­tion on the coin from Gotland, consisting of only three runes, reads þur, which most likely renders the name of the pagan god Þōrr. The text on the un­prove­nanced coin is somewhat longer and reads lutiʀ or possibly only luti. These sequences can be construed in various ways, but probably the most plausible explanation identifies a reference to Old West Norse Lýtir, a designation for a pagan god or cult leader, which is also attested in theophoric place names in Sweden.