Barmen Rune Stick

Rune stick inscription taken from the *Barmen Rune Stone 'ek birbijaR ru'

Pyrography on driftwood scavenged from the Puget Sound in Seattle. Size Approx: 12"L (30.5 cm)

*Carl Marstrander translated the inscription as: "I pirbijaR, i.e. he that makes people powerless, (wrote these) ru(nes)." He took it for granted that the two last runes ru are read as a shortening of runoR, which means runes.

This inscription may have been written as a spell against to those who would interfere with his ownership of the isle.

This inscription is from the rune stone that was found on the Barmen isle in Selje, Sogn and Fjordane. Close by, 50 meters beyond, stands another stone monument without runes. It is dated to the first half of the 400's AD.