The Borgund Kaupang Project has a logo!
One of the many interesting finds from the Borgund excavations is a triangle-shaped, flat object of soapstone with inscribed decorations and runes. One side of the object show that it has been broken off from a larger unit. On another side is the rune inscription: “IONGAFHÆINNR…” “Jon gave (this object) Heinrek…”. The rest of the inscription is missing.
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Based on the meaning of the inscription, and that the object originally was part of a larger unit, the object is interpreted as part of a “jartegn”-couple: an object that would prove that a message sent by a messenger was real and came from the named sender. If this were the case, the inscription would indicate that Heinrek, who probably was German, owned the stone. Jon was the sender, and probably owned the other part of the stone. Maybe the two of them were together in business. The stone is dated to the end of the 13th or 14th century.
The possible “jartegnet” has been chosen as a logo for the Borgund Kaupang Project. Trade and exchange of goods from near and far, and the interaction between people are some of the themes the research team of BKP will study. The physical remains from the people who visited or lived in the Borgund Kaupang are especially valuable when considering these themes. The possible “jartegn” is one of many objects from the Borgund collections that can increase our understanding of the medieval people’s lives and chores at Borgund Kaupangen.
Colleagues at the University Museum, Department of Culture, has helped making the logo: Ragnar Børsheim has designed the logo based on a photograph of the object taken by Adnan Icagic.