Runic inscription

Toke and Torgärd they had ... - ... for Forkun their son
 

Runecarver:

Ärnfast ?

I think this is a work by the young Ärnfast at a time when he was still experimenting. He makes the dragon's head really ugly to scare people... although the overall result wasn't very good, and as far as I know now, that detail is not repeated.

In addition to details in the ornamentation and the shapes of the runes that I connect to Ärnfast, I see another thing that makes me more convinced that this is a work by Ärnfast, the design of the runic inscription.

The lost upper part should contain the words: "litu raisa stain densa åt/after" but all these words could not have fit... so what was written there instead?

If we look at the three other early rune carvings I believe Ärnfast made, we find the solution. Ärnfast simply skips certain words, words that the reader knows should be there anyway, such as "raisa stain thena".

Compare his abbreviated inscriptions on U 40 in Eneby, U 52 in Edeby and the destroyed U 123 in Karlberg, both of which were probably carved by Ärnfast as a young rune carver. 

U 52 Edeby
Afrid lät (rista hällen) åt Svarthövde och åt Igulfast, söner sina, och åt Asgöt.
Afrid had (the stone carved) for Svarthövde and for Igulfast, his sons, and for Asgöt.

U 123 Karlberg
Sigfast och Ärnfast de högg (stenen) åt sig
Sigfast and Ärnfast hewed (the stone) to themselves

U 40 Eneby
Åsbjörn ... - ... Gunnälv lät (resa stenen) åt Åsulv, fader sin.
Åsbjörn ... - ... Gunnälv had (the stone erected) for Åsulv, his father.

U 14 Roparudden
Toke och Torgärd de lät .?. - .?. efter Forkun son sin.
Toke and Torgärd they let (.?. - .?.) after Forkun their son

Facts:
Granite stone.
Size: 1.15 x 1.55 m.
The surface is uneven and rough.

History:

In the mid-19th century it is said that it lay fallen over with the carving facing downwards and in the early 20th century it was located on the shore but was moved up 15 metres and erected there on the southern side of the headland.

The picture is taken facing east and shows the
back of the runestone.
On the other side of the bay is Färingsö.

Kalle is thinking

The place and the cape have also been called Munkudden (the monk's cape). The name is connected to the small island in the middle of the bay called Munken.
During the Viking Age, when the water level was 5 meters higher on land, the island was below the surface and must have been a dangerous shoal, a shoal that should have been marked out in some way to prevent accidents in the busy waterway.

During the Viking Age, people sailed through the strait at Kärsö (Kärsösund) without hindrance. At that time, Roparudden and the runestone were in the middle of a busy shipping lane. 

Roparudden? (Calling cape?)

What were they shouting/calling for?

Well, they called for a boat, a ferry from the other side.

On the other side of the strait there was the farm Alby during the Viking Age. I guess that the names in the runic inscription on the runestone: "Toke, Torgärd and Forkunn" all belong to that farm, since there is no settlement on the Roparudden side that can be connected to the runestone.

Picture from 2008

Links

Upplands runinskrifter > Page 22
(Mostly in Swedish)

Runor >  Riksantikvarieämbetet
(Only in Swedish)

Google map > Find the runestone on the map
 

ALL RUNESTONES

Ekerö municipality

ADELSÖ >
has 5 known runestones

BIRKA >
has fragments from 9 known runestones

MUNSÖ >
has 3 or 4 known runestones

EKERÖ >
has 11 known runestones

FÄRINGSÖ >
has 27 known runestones

LOVÖ >
has 8 known runestones