My only question is, were these "99.9%" of runic carvings done in a
purely Christian setting, or during the period of amalgamation? I
have read of, and seen pictures of, archaeological discoveries of
molds for casting silver that were designed to cast crosses on one
side, and silver hammers on the other.
I am also interested in the Runic graffiti carved into the handrails
of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. From what I understand, the Russ
tribe of "Vikings," after subjugating the Slavs of the
central "Russ"-ian steppes, continued their navigations and
explorations down the waterways of Eastern Europe/Western Asia,
continuing down to the Black Sea, and eventually the Bosporus. They
harrassed Constantinople into a trade agreement, and the Holy Roman
Emperor hired a few of these Northmen as Imperial guards, where they
had enough time to "tag" the largest enclosed space in the world (at
the time). Were these "Russ" actually "Vikings," or were they
simply descendents of them? (I'm not sure off-hand of the dates
involved, but I'm sure I can find them, if need be). I only got the
briefest glimpse of the carvings themselves (on TV), so I can't
precisely place the alphabet, either (it did appear to be some form
of Runic).