Jutland police have found the person who disfigured the larger UNESCO World Heritage Jelling stone with graffiti earlier this week.

The 15-year-old young man has admitted the misdeed, was arrested Thursday and is to be presented in court Friday charged with vandalism, according to Steen Edeling of the Southeast Jutland Police.

Apart from the Jelling stone, upon which the word ‘Gelwane’ was sprayed, similar disfigurement was found in the Jelling cemetery and at a building in Vejle.

Although it was initially unclear whether the Jelling stone could be cleaned without leaving a permanent disfigurement of the stone’s patina, National Museum specialists suggest they should be able to remove the green paint in a way that will keep the historical monument’s patina.

The stone in question was erected by Harold Bluetooth (ca. 935 – 986) to commemorate his parents King Gorm the Old and Thyra Danneblod.

"King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian,” the stone reads.

The smaller, and older of the two Jelling Stones was erected by King Gorm the Old to commemorate his wife Thyra.

Denmark has three mainland World Heritage sites – the Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church; Kronborg Castle in Elsinore and Roskilde Cathedral. The Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland, which is part of the Danish commonwealth, is also a World Heritage site.

In 2008 UNESCO experts examined the stones to determine their condition and requested the stones be moved to an indoor exhibition hall, or in some other way protected in situ, to prevent further damage from the weather.

“In order to protect the Runic Stones from further erosion and keep them in their original position there is an urgent need to provide them with protection from the weather. An architectural competition was initiated in the autumn of 2009 to address this issue. The competition winner was announced during early 2010, and the result may imply construction work that will be fully consulted upon,” UNESCO says on its website.