How else could the Heavener runestone, a massive 12-foot stone containing eight ancient Viking runes, have ended up there otherwise? Or the five other runestones discovered in the state?

The Vikings are often portrayed as illiterate, uncultured barbarians who evinced more interest in plunder than in poetry. In fact, the Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone ...

Numerous stones carved with runes found across Scandinavia bear fascinating messages, such as one about a powerful Viking queen or a warning for frigid climate change based on past events.

The pieces dated to around 900 A.D. or the Viking Age. The hoard “was buried ... three of them are inscribed with Anglo-Saxon runes with Old English name elements, officials said.