
Where is the Heavener Runestone?
It is located near the city of Heavener, Oklahoma. Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends of Heavener Runestone, a non-profit organization. The Festival held at the park on two weekends a year serves as a fundraiser for operating and maintaining the park.
Is the Heavener Runestone the most mysterious site in Oklahoma?
However, it is home to one of the most mysterious sites in all of the state of Oklahoma (and perhaps the United States): the Heavener Runestone. The Heavener Runestone is a large slab of vertical sandstone on Poteau Mountain with one line of eight Futhark Runes carved on it, dating it at least to the ninth century (if it is authentic).
Are there any runestones that are not runic?
Two other "Heavener Runestones" are most likely not runic at all but exhibit incisions of Native American origin. Three other runestones, found in Poteau, Shawnee and Pawnee, are of modern date.
What is the oldest runestone in the world?
The oldest find is the "Heavener Runestone," first documented in 1923. It is most likely a 19th-century artifact made by a Scandinavian immigrant (possibly a Swede working at the local train depot). Two other "Heavener Runestones" are most likely not runic at all but exhibit incisions of Native American origin.

What is written on the Heavener Runestone?
The stone, uncharacteristically large for a runestone, has eight runes carved into it. The letters when translated into English read GNOMEDAL or GNLOMEDAL, which have been interpreted to mean Gnome Valley, G. Nomedal, or the phrase Williams prefers, Little Valley.
What does the Viking runestone say?
These markings were later identified as Scandinavian runic writing. The generally accepted translation of those runes reads: “We are 8 Goths [Swedes] and 22 Norwegians on an exploration journey from Vinland through the West.
When was the Heavener Runestone found?
Opened in 1970, this park is centered on a Swedish-inscribed runestone found in the 1920s. However, according to oral history, the runestone was actually discovered in the 1830s by a Choctaw hunting party.
Who found the Heavener Runestone?
Choctaw hunting partyApparently the stone was first discovered in the 1830s by a Choctaw hunting party and was reportedly seen by white trappers in 1874. Locally it became known as Indian Rock, because it was generally believed that American Indians had made the markings.
What do runestones do Fjordur?
Runestones are needed to summon the Fjordur World Bosses (some players just call them mini-bosses) which then allow you to progress to the Ark Bosses. These World Bosses are known as Beyla, Steinbjorn along with the twins Hati and Skoll, who each need 30 Runestones for you to start a battle with them.
What does Kensington Runestone say?
For, freely translated into English, the inscription found at Kensington reads as follows: 8 Swedes and 22 Norwegians on an exploration journey from Vinland westward. We had our camp by 2 rocky islets one day's journey north of this stone.
Did the Vikings go to Oklahoma?
It is believed that one of these ships traveled south along the Atlantic coast, into the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi River and into the Arkansas River around 750 AD. It is speculated that the Vikings stopped at Poteau Mountain near what is now Heavener, Oklahoma.
Where is the runestone in Oklahoma?
Heavener Runestone ParkThe Heavener Runestone (pronounced /ˈhiːvnər/) is located in Heavener Runestone Park in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, near Heavener, Oklahoma. The runes on the stone are ᚷ ᛆ ᛟ ᛗ ᛖ ᛞ ᚨ ᛐ.
What is Heavener zip code?
74937Heavener / Zip code
What is Odin's rune?
The blank rune—the absence of runes—invites the student to reflect on the experience of not-knowing. It is also known as Odin's rune in honor of the All-Father and the patron of runic lore. The blank rune is silence, the zero, the void of infinite possibility. The space between words, the breath before speech.
Do runes have meanings?
As well as being a literal alphabet used during the Viking ages, runes were (and still are by some) believed to hold power, symbolize inherent qualities and values and be associated with magic, as well as having meanings in more modern divination and oracle reading practices too.
What language is on runes?
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised purposes thereafter.
What is rune reading?
The ancient art of rune reading starts from the Norse Gods and has been used for generations as a tool to help shape and predict the future. Through this course you can link with the ancient practice and bring it back today with a very intuitive twist that will help you connect, channel and read these wonderful runes.
Heavener Runestone: Oklahoma's Controversial Link To The Vikings
Deep in the Ouachita Mountains of LeFlore County, Oklahoma, a little over 12 miles south of Poteau, lies the town of Heavener. Heavener, like many of the towns and cities of Southeastern Oklahoma, is small and quiet.
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Where is Heavener Runestone Park?
Heavener Runestone Park. / 34.9; -94.578056. / 34.9; -94.578056. Heavener Runestone Park is a 55-acre (220,000 m 2) park located in Le Flore County, Oklahoma. It is located near the city of Heavener, Oklahoma. Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends ...
Who studied Heavener Stone?
Assessment of the runestone. Henrik Williams, a professor of Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University has studied the Heavener stone, as well as many other such stones elsewhere in the world.
What is Heavener Park?
Heavener Park offers , picnic tables, outdoor grills, primitive campsites with showers available, amphitheater, playground, hiking, exploring, and educational programs about the Runestone. The park also offers the top portion for private use for special events such as weddings, reunions birthdays etc for a fee.
Is Heavener Runestone a non profit?
Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends of Heavener Runestone, a non-profit organization. The Festival held at the park on two weekends a year serves as a fundraiser for operating and maintaining the park.
Is Heavener Runestone State Park a 501c3?
However, the City of Heavener agreed to assume ownership and operation of the 55-acre park beginning July 1, 2011. The park is now managed by a group of volunteers that make a 501c3 non profit organization.
Heavener Runestone State Park
Sits in a ravine, inside a protective shelter. On Poteau Mountain, 2.5 miles east of town in Heavener Runestone State Park, off of US-59/270, and east of Morris Creek Rd.
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Who examined the Runestone?
Archaeologist Lyle Tompsen in a 2007 Masters Thesis for the University of Leicester (published in ESOP 29 2011:5-43) examined the runestone and noted:
Where did runestones come from?
A number of runestones have been found in Oklahoma. All of them are likely of modern origin, with some of them possibly dating to the 19th century " Viking revival " or being produced by 19th-century Scandinavian settlers.
Where was the Poteau stone found?
The Poteau stone was found by schoolboys in 1967 near Poteau in Le Flore County, Oklahoma.
What is the stone name for the Valley of the Gnomes?
The stone's most likely translation is 'Gnome Dale' (Valley of the Gnomes).
What is the Shawnee stone?
Professor Don G Wyckoff, an archaeologist at the University of Oklahoma, examined the Shawnee stone and noted that it is a soft red Permian sandstone, writing that "the inscription is... remarkably fresh and certainly not as worn or weathered as the stone's natural surface. The Survey staff has viewed other exposures of this Permian sandstone which have carved dates as late as 1957 that are more worn and weathered..." Both the Shawnee and Pawnee runestones are products of the modern period. The inscription reads either mldok or midok in standard Elder Futhark lettering.
When was the Heavener Runestone?
Right or wrong in his transliteration/translation, Nielsen realized the Heavener Runestone dated to possibly 800 A.D., or a little before or after, stretching the date to catch the beginning of Viking expansion which, however, commenced after the new futhork had come into vogue. Even allowing for along period of overlap, the three-centuries’ stretched date of 800 itself stretches Viking possibility. We can hardly get Vikings of the sagas to Oklahoma before they got to Ireland, Iceland or Greenland.
Where are the runestones in the Heavener region?
The Warner Stone, e.g., found December 1972 by a boy of Warner, OK, in a field near Dirty Creek, an Arkansas tributary, between Warner and Muskogee in east-central Oklahoma, (Farley, ESOP, 1976) consists of three characters,
Where did runestones originate?
Recurrent runestones in pre-Viking style that employ a few forms disused in Scandinavia and Britain during the 5h Century, plus a persisting few whose vocalization later changed, confirms an extensive presence along the Arkansas and Canadian waterway of early-centuries-A.D. north-Europeans unrecorded in Europe and forgotten in American lore.

Overview
Heavener Runestone Park is a 55-acre (220,000 m ) park located in Le Flore County, Oklahoma. It is located near the city of Heavener, Oklahoma. Formerly a state park of Oklahoma, it was transferred to the City of Heavener in 2011, and is now operated by the Friends of Heavener Runestone, a non-profit organization. The Festival held at the park on two weekends a year serves as …
Transfer from state to city park
The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department announced in March 2011 that it would close the Heavener Runestone State Park on August 15, 2011, due to budget cuts. However, the City of Heavener agreed to assume ownership and operation of the 55-acre park beginning July 1, 2011. The park is now managed by a group of volunteers that make a 501c3 non profit organization.
Park facilities
Heavener Park offers , picnic tables, outdoor grills, primitive campsites with showers available, amphitheater, playground, hiking, exploring, and educational programs about the Runestone. The park also offers the top portion for private use for special events such as weddings, reunions birthdays etc for a fee.
Assessment of the runestone
Henrik Williams, a professor of Scandinavian languages at Uppsala University has studied the Heavener stone, as well as many other such stones elsewhere in the world. He said that the Heavener stone is an impressive runic memorial, but is unlikely to be as old as some of the local legends claim. He noted that there is no evidence that any Europeans were in this area during the Viking era. He stated that these runes represent the Elder Futhark system that was common duri…
Runestone Festival
The park became the site for the annual Heavener Runestone Festival Fundraiser in 2011. It actually occurs on two weekends each year. Features of the event include Celtic and folk music, swordplay, displays of variety of merchant booths, games, a hike to view the runestone, and overnight camping. Cast and Volunteers are all dressed in costume and many attendees dress up as well. The purpose of the festival, besides pure enjoyment, is fundraising to support the park.
See also
• Oklahoma runestones
External links
• Heavener Runestone Park - local tourism information