The Björketorp Runestone in Sweden is possibly part of a grave field of solitary and forming stone circles. It’s among the worlds tallest Viking Runestones at 14ft tall which dates back to the 6th or 7th century. The cursed object has fascinated countless people over the centuries, yet still remains enigmatic and open to much speculation. Some claim the stone is the marker for a grave, to which a curse protects against outside intrusion. Though others think it’s a memorial of sorts to a possible grave elsewhere. A stone to remember a fallen hero who died abroad. Still, others think the Björketorp Runestone is a shrine to the one-eyed god Odin. The stone is covered in runes which say:
“I, master of the runes, conceal here runes of power. Incessantly plagued by maleficence , doomed to insidious death is he who breaks this monument. I prophesy destruction.”
There’s other translations with debatable meanings but this is the overall agreed-upon meanings of the runes, though all translations get the point across that if you mess with the stone, expect messed up stuff to happen to you. The runes are written in Elder Futhark, the oldest known form of the runic alphabet. In 1914 an archaeological investigation around the stone showed no signs of human remains. Though it’s interesting to note directly under the stone and the immediate area could not be excavated for fear of damaging the artifact. It still sparked a lot of speculation of what could possibly have been the Björketorp Runestone’s purpose. It would have taken an immense amount of work from many people to fashion the stone and put it in place, which some think indicates it’s a part of some esoteric ancient religion to honor the Allfather Odin. The runestone being a place of worship or some other spiritual purpose.
One of the few things known about the Björketorp Runestone is that its mysterious curse mentioned in the runes seems to be real. Basically, anyone who disrespects the runestone suffers a horrible fate. A man once tried to remove it wanting to cultivate the land. It was a calm weather day, no wind, blue skies, nothing out of the ordinary. He meant to heat the stone with fire, then crack it by pouring cold water over it. But, as he went to light the fire, a powerful wind came out of nowhere and blew the flame back towards him, setting his clothes and hair on fire. The man burned alive, unable to stop the flames. He died in a slow flaming agony..
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