14 DAY TRIAL // A centuries-old sword that a team of archaeologists discovered in 2011 is now at long last on display at the Historical Museum in Oslo, Norway's capital city.
The sword, dating back to the late Viking Age, was recovered from a site near the village of Langeid in Norway's Bygland municipality. It was found inside a Viking grave, lying next to a coffin.
The sword likely belonged to a wealthy man, researchers say
When lead archaeologist Camilla Cecilie Wenn and colleagues first laid eyes on the sword, the weapon was covered in rust and didn't look all that impressive.
When they cleaned it, however, the researchers found that the rust was hiding gold embellishments, stunning ornamentations, and even inscriptions. Hence, the team concluded that it once belonged to a wealthy man.
More so given the fact that, when compared to other graves discovered in the area, the one that produced this sword, built sometime around the year 1030, was quite big and, therefore, fit for a person of status.
The Viking Age sword, shown in the image below, measures 94 centimeters (37 inches) in length. Rust has eaten away at its iron blade, but its handle and the ornamentations on it are pretty much intact.
“It is wrapped with silver thread and the hilt and pommel at the top are covered in silver with details in gold, edged with a copper alloy thread,” explains archaeologist Zanette Glørstad.
The inscriptions on the sword were written using the Latin alphabet. However, the researchers have not yet managed to figure out what they could possibly mean. Mind you, they are starting to think they are magical runes.
What's interesting is that some of the ornamentations are cross-shaped. There is even a representation of a hand holding a proper cross. Why the sword's maker decorated it with Christian symbols remains a mystery.
Having found traces of wood and leather on the weapon's blade, the research team determined that its owner didn't simply dangle it around but instead kept it safe in a sheath, Science Daily informs.
Several other artifacts were recovered from the same site
The grave inside which this Viking Age sword was discovered produced several other artifacts dating back to the same period in Norway's history, among them bits and pieces of silver coins and a battle axe, also covered in rust when the archaeologists pulled it from the ground.
Unlike the sword, the battle axe does not sport any gold embellishments. It is, however, coated with brass, i.e. a gold-like alloy of copper and zinc, which means it too was quite a sight in its heydays.
It is unclear whether the sword and the battle axe were placed in the grave to protect the person buried there from potential enemies that might want to desecrate its body or if maybe the arrangement was merely intended as a display of power.
