Digging up ancient weapons is extremely difficult, even in locations where they are expected. Imagine the excitement if a Viking sword was found in the yard of a regular homeowner.
Discovered Viking Age Sword
According to Live Science, a homeowner in Southern Norway wanted to extend his house, and when he dug into his year, he found a Viking-age sword in the dirt. It was part of a greater discovery: a grave of an actual Viking warrior with some other artifacts.
Joakim Wintervoll, an Agdar County government archaeologist, detailed what items they found on the grave, estimated from the 800s or early 900s. Buried with the warrior was a rusty iron sword.
Live Science reports that archaeologists could estimate when the blade was made by looking at the style of the hilt. They also deducted that it was developed in Norway and could've been from the 9th to 10th century.
Other artifacts discovered included a lance, belt buckle, brooch, and glass beads. So far, the Viking warrior themselves nor animal remains have been found at the burial site.
Viking Warrior Artifacts
The lance found was said to function as a long spear, often used on horseback. As for the beads, it was said that they were made of glass and that the belt buckle was gilded with gold.
When it came to the brooch, it was made of bronze. These brooches were often displays of wealth and often incorporated beasts like wolves or even dragons.
MET Museum describes users as being used to hold a container for small objects and can be flexibly used in a container to hold small objects. Viking women would've often worn these brooches.
The findings, especially the lance, suggested that the Viking warrior was proficient in horseback and was someone of means due to how his jewelry was gilded in gold.
The Grave's Location
The grave was located in Setesdal, southwest of Oslo, and was on the property of Oddbjørn Holum Heiland, the homeowner who wanted to expand his house. Science Norway reports that the discovery happened when Heiland excavated parts of his yard using a mechanical digger.
Live Science reports that while there were no plans to dig a lot, he first recognized what looked like a gravestone. When digging further, they found the sword's hilt and other artifacts.
Oslo's Museum of Cultural History's Wintervoll and Jo-Simon Frøshaug Stokke, another archaeologist, visited the site. Though no other remains were found at the property before, Wintervoll said that in the 1930s, they found another grave in a nearby farm.
During that time, other Viking artifacts on the grave included a sword, spear, and glass beads. It was reported that they could also find a horse bridle, suggesting that the warrior was proficient in horseback like the Viking from the newly discovered grave.
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