Denmark's oldest writing found on 2,000-year-old knife

Dating back to around 150 years AD, the iron knife was found in a grave in a small cemetery east of Odense, in central Denmark. Photo: AFP

Archaeologists in Denmark have found a small knife inscribed with runic letters dating back almost 2,000 years, the oldest trace of writing found in the country, the Museum Odense said on Tuesday.

Runic letters, called runes, are the oldest alphabet known in Scandinavia.