Runes are the elongated and angular letters of the ancient Germans, the ancestors of the modern English, Dutch, Germans, Danes, Norwegians and Swedes. The oldest known monuments of runic writing date back to the middle of the 2nd century AD. A study of the rune's outline shows that they originate from the Latin alphabet: the signs ᚠ, ᚢ, ᚱ, ᚲ, ᚺ, ᛁ, ᛏ, ᛒ, ᛚ almost completely repeat the outlines of the corresponding Latin letters - F, U, R, C, H, I, T, B, L. The runes ᚨ, ᛊ, ᛗ, ᛞ and ᛟ, in which the letters A, S, M, D and O can be discerned, have moved somewhat further from their prototypes.