Oklahoma runestones

It is a 19th-century artifact made by a Scandinavian immigrant (possibly a Swede working at the local train depot).

"[3] 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: "Barring any new evidence, the stone is best considered a modern creation.

That’s another thing that doesn’t really fit the pattern.” He also noted that "There are no Vikings or earlier inscriptions on Iceland or Greenland, so it’s a big jump from Sweden to Heavener.

"[4] In 1991, Carl Albert State College in nearby Poteau changed its mascot to a Viking in the stone's honor.

The inscription reads ᚷᛆᛟᛁᛖᚨᛚᚦ and Thompsen writes, "This stone consists of a mixture of letters and alphabets from different times."

"[1] Swedish Professor Henrik Williams believes that the inscription is modern, with the stone and toolmarks not as weathered as would be expected if it were from the Viking period.

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..."[7] Both the Shawnee and Pawnee runestones are products of the modern period.