| Find place | Unknown, reputedly Sweden |
| Collection | Private |
| Length | Overall: 103 cm. Blade: 88 cm. |
| Date | 900 to 1000 AD |
| Condition | Excavated; broken with two modern welds |
Viking age sword with pommel and conjoined upper guard adorned by
parallel linear silver and copper inlay, the lower guard is now absent.
The blade has been repaired with two modern welds, one in the mid-tang and
the other just beyond the mid-point of the blade. The degree of corrosion
is different for the two blade fragments. No trace of pattern welding can
be seen underneath the patina, however the texture within the fuller focally
suggests iron inlaid inscriptions which remain undecipherable without cleaning.
The damage suggests that this sword was deliberately mutilated, presumably
prior to interment in a grave, as is seen in the illustration to the right
and above from Petersen
(1919), figure 93, p. 112.
As the sagas are replete with tales of grave robbing for venerated ancient swords, the most practical explanation is that such weapons were mutilated so they and their presumed previous owner would be left at rest. Other possibilities include the ritual killing of an object or a superstitious belief that weapons must be disarmed to protect the living from the dead.