Runic inscriptions are unique linguistic memorials that go back almost two thousand years. Interpreting the runes and putting their message into a context requires accumulated knowledge from many different fields. The same applies to the work of preserving this heritage which interests so many people. The runestones standing in our cultural landscape, unparalleled in the rest of the world, have a special position. Solid and active runic research, together with a unifying node in the form of Runverket, the runic unit of the Swedish National Heritage Board, will continue to be needed in the future.