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The ornate sword from Langeid - Museum of Cultural History
Mystical signs inlaid with gold bedeck the magnificent hilt of the Langeid sword – a Viking weapon infused with Christian symbolism and laid in a pre-Christian grave while the new faith was conquering the last regions of Norway.
www.khm.uio.no
In the four corners of the grave, holes for pillars were found, possibly originally supporting the roof over the grave. Archaeologists found a wooden coffin between the pillars, but there were no remains in it, which indicates a symbolic burial of things belonging to a warrior who died somewhere in a foreign land.
Along one of the outer walls of the coffin lay an ornate sword, and on the other, a brodex (broad-bladed ax).
Fragments of two silver coins were found inside the coffin. One of them is apparently German, from the Viking era. The second is the English penny of King thelred II, who ruled 978-1016.
Analysis of coal found in one of the pits showed that the burial was made around 1030, which fits well with the date of the English coin.
Initially, it was obvious that the sword was richly decorated. The restorer Vegard Vicke undertook its clearing, who spent 410 hours on the whole process.
