Ancient alphabet characters, such as runes, are symbols that were used in the past to represent language. Runes were used by Germanic and Scandinavian cultures from about 150 to 1100 AD. They were used for writing, divination, and magical purposes. Runes were also used as a form of communication between tribes and as a way to mark graves and other important sites. Runes were made up of straight lines and angular shapes, and each rune had its own meaning.