rare even in the medieval Swedish provincial laws. The same form was used on a lost runestone in the vicinity, which, however, was not made by the same runemaster, which suggest that there were two runemasters in the region using the same linguistic innovation. Latin transliteration: an(u)(i)(t)r : auk · kiti : auk · kar : auk · blisi · auk · tiarfr · þir · raistu · stain þina · aftiʀ · kunlaif · foþur : sin han : fil · austr : miþ : ikuari kuþ heabi ąntini Runic Swedish transcription: Andvēttr ok <kiti> ok Kārr ok Blesi ok Diarfʀ þæiʀ ræistu stæin þenna æftiʀ Gunnlæif, faður sinn. Hann fell austr með Ingvari. Guð hialpi andinni. English translation: "Andvéttr and <kiti> and Kárr and Blesi and Djarfr, they raised this stone in memory of Gunnleifr, their father. He fell in the east with Ingvarr. May God help (his) spirit." U 654 The Varpsund runestone is in style Fp. It is almost three metres tall, and it is located on a promontory between Stora Ullfjärden ("Great fjord of Ullr") and Ryssviken ("Bay of the Russians") so as to be well visible for both those travelling on land and those travelling by water. It contains an Old Norse poem. The runestone was depicted as early as 1599 by Johannes Bureus, and in the 17th century on a drawing by Johan Hadorph and Johan Leitz. Unfortunately, the names of two of the brothers who are mentioned on the stone were already lost at that time. Luckily, the brothers raised a second stone (U 644, above) at Ekilla Bro a few kilometres to the south of Varpsund, which is why scholars are certain that their names were Andvéttr and Blesi. The runemaster's name is partially superficially carved and the last rune has disappeared, but it was probably Alrikr. It is a characteristic of this runemaster that the r-rune is used where the R-rune should be. Moreover, the u-rune is probably used on this stone for an u-umlauted a. These are dialect traits typical of the Old Norse dialect of Iceland and Norway (Old West Norse). The inscription mentions the knarr, which was a larger seagoing trading vessel with ample cargo space. The knarr is mentioned in five other Viking Age runestones, two in Södermanland and three in Uppland. A sixth inscription is found in the medieval church of Sakshaug in the fjord