Unique Sword Casts New Light on Viking Voyages Across the North Sea
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
The sword was found in three pieces by two metal detector enthusiasts, independent of each other, in the Jatta/Gausel area in Stavanger, already renowned for the grave of the so-called Gausel queen. Found in 1883, it is considered to be one of the richest women's graves from the Viking Age.
Like the women buried in the Oseberg ship, the Gausel queen had rich artifacts from the British Isles with her in her grave.
The sword would have been one of the most spectacularly ornamented and heaviest types of swords from the Viking Age. The blade is missing, but the hilt has unique details in gold and silver, and exquisite details not previously known.
[...] "The decor suggests that the sword was made in France or England, and that it can be dated to the early 800s, like the sword found on the island Eigg," Glorstad says.
It has previously been speculated whether the Jatta/Gausel-area was the starting point for extensive alliances and looting.
"The location of the find, close to the Gausel queen, means that we have to take a new look at the entire Jatta/Gausel area," says Hakon Reiersen, researcher at the Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger.
"The outstanding collection of imported spectacular finds connected to both men and women in this area shows that this has been an important hub for the contact across the North Sea," he says.
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