Norway, farmer cleans field and finds rare Viking sword

Important archaeological discovery in Norway, in the small town of Suldal, where a farmer, performing some cleaning work on the family farm, discovered an extremely rare Viking-era sword, probably the first of its kind in the territory where it was found, Rogaland county. Breaking the news of the find is theUniversity of Stavanger, which studied this object.

“The sword was the greatest status symbol of the Viking era, and it was a privilege to be able to carry a sword,” says Lars Søgaard Sørensen, archaeologist, county cultural officer. The man who discovered the sword, Øyvind Tveitane Lovra, was clearing rocks on his family farm when something “iron” appeared. He looked closer, and there was the Viking sword. Complete with praise from archaeologists and public officials for doing everything right when she contacted the county council after finding “something ancient” (in Norway, private individuals who happen upon such finds must immediately contact the municipality to report the discovery).

After the find, the sword was immediately turned over to the University of Stavanger Archaeological Museum

In the museum’s conservation department, an X-ray of the sword was taken, and there was great excitement among archaeologists, both those in the county and those at the museum, when an inscription appeared on the X-ray image. “We are not aware that similar swords have been found before in Rogaland,” says archaeology professor Sigmund Oehrl.

“I immediately realized that this was not an everyday discovery,” said Øyvind Tveitane Lovra. “For me it was obvious to hand it over. It is about our history and it is good to know what has been here in the past. We were about to start sowing new grass on a field that hadn’t been plowed in many years. Haakon, my son, and I were plowing the field and collecting stones before taking a break with a neighbor who had come to visit. Then I saw an iron object that I was about to throw, but just as I was about to throw it, I found that it was a sword. I thought, ’what happens now?’”

The next step after the delivery was the study of the object. The sword is 37 centimeters long with about half of it missing. It is still surprisingly well preserved, despite the fact that Rogaland has worse sword preservation conditions than, for example, eastern Norway, Trøndelag, and northern Norway. Three to four thousand Viking-era swords have been found in Europe to date, Oehrl said. About 45 swords similar to the one just found have been found in Norway, but none of them in Rogaland county territory. The sword has some rust and must be preserved and examined further before it can be dated more closely and better explain what the inscriptions on it mean. The sword was probably produced between 900 and 1050.

Norway, farmer cleans field and finds rare Viking sword

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.