The pommel of this sword has been lost, however the inverted boat-profile crossguard of cast bronze is sufficiently distinctive to allow classification as Petersen type "O", which is associated with the period 900 to 950 by both Petersen (1919) and Geibig (1991). (Zoom view of opposite side of the guard with further discussion of this guard and illustrations of other similar examples, 45 kb.)
The blade is pattern-welded with four alternating twisted and straight bands and has flat faces with no evidence of a fuller, thus consistent with Geibig's Klingentyp (blade type) 1, associated with 800 and earlier, that is, later in the Migration Period and early in the Viking Age.
Thus, this sword most likely represents an old blade rehilted at least a century after its manufacture, corroborating the Norse sagas concerning continuing use of old blades.