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posted by hubie on Friday July 22 2022, @07:07AM   Printer-friendly

The sword was found in three pieces by two metal detector enthusiasts, independent of each other, in the Jåttå/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 décor 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," Glørstad says.

It has previously been speculated whether the Jåttå/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 Jåttå/Gausel area," says Håkon 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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  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday July 22 2022, @01:23PM (2 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Friday July 22 2022, @01:23PM (#1262276)

    Stavanger [wikipedia.org] is 4th-largest city in Norway, located in southwest. TFA mentions Norway, but doesn't come out and say that Stavanger is in Norway.

    • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday July 22 2022, @01:58PM (1 child)

      by janrinok (52) on Friday July 22 2022, @01:58PM (#1262279) Journal

      The linked material does clearly mention it - we have to cut the summary down to meet with the requirements of 'Fair Use'.

      Only about 20 such swords have been found in Norway—out of a total of around 3,000 Viking sword finds.

      and

      "But it is possible to imagine that copies of these types of swords were made by very competent sword smiths in Norway,"

      If somebody doesn't know where Stavanger is they could look it up quite easily.

      There were other clues ('across the North Sea, Viking voyages, Oseberg ship, etc) in the summary too.

      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Sunday July 24 2022, @03:09AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Sunday July 24 2022, @03:09AM (#1262578)

        Sorry, I was trying to be helpful.

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