Ann Naddodsdóttir was likely a daughter of Naddoddr

Naddoddr

Naddod was a Faroese Viking who is credited with the discovery of Iceland. Naddod was also one of the first settlers on the Faroe Islands after Grímur Kamban became the first to settle there around 825...

, the Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 attributed with the discovery of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

At the cemetery of a church in Bressay, Shetland there was in 1864 found a grave from the early 10th century with Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 crosses and decorations of Scandinavian

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 origins.

Katherine Forsyth

Katherine Forsyth

Katherine S. Forsyth is a British historian who specializes in the history and culture of Celtic peoples during the 1st millenium AD, in particular the Picts...

 from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 managed in 1996 to decipher the text.

In the front it says: "CRROSCC: NAHHTVVDDAddS: DATTRR: Ann"

and on the back: "BEN (s) iSESMEQQDDRoANN"

According to Dr. Forsyth (and other previous scientists) it can be translate in Old Norwegian

Old Norwegian

Old Norwegian refers to a group of Old Norse dialects spoken and written in Norway in the Middle Ages. They bridged the dialect continuum from Old East Norse to Old West Norse.-Old Norwegian vs Common Norse:...

 to

in the front: "HER: KROSSUR: NADDODDSDÓTTIR: ANN"

and on the back: "(AV) BEINIR SONUR DRÓIN"

Descendant theory

Forsyth says that this Ann Naddodsdóttir was a Faroese Viking. The son Beinir Dróinsson (MacDroan) who raised the grave might be identical to Beinir Sigmundsson

Beinir Sigmundsson

Beinir Sigmundsson was together with his brother Brestir Sigmundsson ruler over half of the Faroe Islands....

 who according to Færeyinga Saga

Færeyinga Saga

The Færeyinga Saga , the Norse saga of Faroemen, is the story of how the Faroes were converted to Christianity and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway.-Summary:It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200...

 was the brother of Brestir Sigmundsson

Brestir Sigmundsson

Brestir Sigmundsson was together with his brother Beinir Sigmundsson ruler over half of the Faroe Islands....

 who together ruled their own half of the Faroe Islands. Brestir's son Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson

Sigmundur Brestisson introduced Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. He is one of the main characters of the Færeyinga saga.According to the Færeyinga Saga, emigrants who left Norway to escape the tyranny of Harald I of Norway, settled in the islands about the beginning of the 9th century...

apparently introduced Christianity to the Faroe Islands in 999. If this is true Sigmundur was of Christian faith already at birth.

Sources

• Katherine S. Forsyth: The Ogham Inscriptions of Scotland. An Edited Corpus. Harvard University Dissertation, Cambridge, Mass. 1996