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The Rök Runestone, also known as Rökstenen (Ög 136), is one of the most famous runestones, featuring the longest known runic inscription in stone. It is located beside the church in Rök, Ödeshög Municipality, Östergötland, Sweden.The stone, which weighs 5.1 tons and stands 2.4 meters tall, was discovered built into the wall of a church in the 19th century. The church was built in the 12th century, and it was common to use rune stones as building material for churches. The stone was probably carved in the early 9th century.The inscription on the stone is covered with runes on five sides except the base which was to be put under ground. A few parts of the inscription are damaged, but most of it remains legible. The inscription is intentionally challenging to read, using kennings in the manner of Old Norse skaldic poetry, and demonstrating the carver's command of different alphabets and writing styles (including code).The inscription contains a fragment of what is believed to be a lost piece of Norse mythology. It also makes a historical reference to Ostrogothic king (effectively emperor of the western Roman empire) Theodoric the Great. The inscription is partially encrypted in two ways; by displacement and by using special cipher runes.The Rök Runestone is considered the first piece of written Swedish literature and thus it marks the beginning of the history of Swedish literature.