Elder Futhark
Elder Futhark is the oldest known runic script. It was used by Germanic tribes during the 2nd to 8th century. It consists of 24 different characters that are used like an alphabet; each character represents a sound or syllable. All Germamic tribes used the same form and same language. Its use lasted to the mid 8th century. Scholars are still discussing when it was first used: The oldest known use which is not disputed is a comb on the Vimose inscriptions from Denmark. It dates around the year 160. There are also runes on the Meldorf fibula, which date from the year 50. The inscription on the fibular is made of characters that are probably runes. The problem is that these characters can also represent symbols in the Latin alphabet.