The Old English Runic Alphabet

You might find interesting that Old English was first written in the runic alphabet which was brought by the Germanic tribes to the British Isles in the early 5th century. The Old English runic alphabet consisted of 31 letters; and it can be written horizontally in either direction. Each letter had a name, and the alphabet was called the futhorc. There is more useful information on http://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm.

There are less than 30 clear runic inscriptions in Old English. A great story about one of the most famous examples has drawn my attention. The Franks Casket, a richly carved whalebone box, was accidentally found in France, where a farmer from Auzon owned it without a slight idea of its value. Now it is on the exhibit in the British Museum. I have heard a lot of stories about interesting findings on the garage sales, but this this one seems unbelievable because the Franks Casket dates back to the 8th century!