#pre-viking

[archaeologicalnews]

Well-Preserved 3,000-Yr-Old Pre-Viking Sword Unearthed in Denmark Is Still Sharp

On the large island of Zealand, located in eastern  Denmark, two amateur archaeologists fortuitously decided to bring their metal detector along with them on a stroll through a field one evening.

While on their walk, the metal detector’s alarm sounded, and the pair from the small town of Svebølle, Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkelsen, made a startling discovery: they dug into the earth, about a foot underground, and uncovered what appeared to be one end of a sword.

Believing that it might be a discovery of considerable significance, they decided to get a hold of someone with more expertise before extracting the find. So, they reburied it, and the next morning they contacted the Museum Vestsjælland to report the discovery. Read more.

[imperium-romanum]

A Swedish Girl Out Swimming Finds Pre-Viking Sword in Lake

There have been many remarkable discoveries in lakes, over the centuries. One such find has just been recently announced in Sweden. A young girl found an incredibly rare 5th or 6th century AD sword in a lake in the west of the country.

There have been many remarkable discoveries in lakes, over the centuries. One such find has just been recently announced in Sweden. A young girl found an incredibly rare 5th or 6th century AD sword in a lake in the west of the country. The find is believed to be a very important one, as there have been relatively few pre-Viking artifacts uncovered in Scandinavia and it is greatly exciting the archaeological community in Sweden.

The little girl and the sword

Saga Vanecek was out swimming near her home in Vidöstern lake in Småland, which is very popular in the summer months. Saga was swimming in an unidentified part of the lake when she stepped on something in the water.  She is quoted in The Local SE , as saying she ‘felt something in the water and lifted it up. It was a handle’. Naturally she was very curious and took it home and she showed it to her father and told him that it looked like a sword.

The young girl was excited and so too were local experts when they saw the sword. The artifact was presented to the Jönköpings Läns Museum by the eight-year-old.  The staff at the museum were amazed by the find and how it was discovered.  The Local SE reports that Mikael Nordström of the museum stated that "it's not every day that one steps on a sword in the lake!"  The local experts immediately recognized that the object was extremely significant.

Continue reading

[treasures-and-beauty]

Anglo-Saxon pendant, 7th century

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

Vendel Helmets: Spectacular Scandinavian Relics from the Vendel Period

Vendel and Valsgärde are two archaeological sites located in Sweden. Both of these sites were once used as burial grounds, and it is from the former that a period in Swedish prehistory, the Vendel period, derived its name.

Vendel and Valsgärde in Sweden were used as burial grounds during the Vendel period. According to archaeologists, this period began in around 550 AD and lasted until 800 AD. 

[gwydionmisha]

Eight-year-old Swedish-American girl pulls pre-Viking era sword from lake

UPDATED: An eight-year-old Swedish-American girl came across an exciting find swimming at her local lake, when she pulled an ancient sword from its depths.

[rachelundefined]

Eight-year-old Swedish-American girl pulls pre-Viking era sword from lake

UPDATED: An eight-year-old Swedish-American girl came across an exciting find swimming at her local lake, when she pulled an ancient sword from its depths.

[archaicwonder]

Pre-Viking Scandinavian Gilt Pelta Pendant with Bird, 7th Century AD

The profile bird with hooked claw and divided tail is a motif used in England and Scandinavia in the 6th-7th century AD. It appears on the shield of the king in Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo (photo) and on the equipment of the contemporary burials at Vendel, Valsgärde and elsewhere in central Sweden.

[archaicwonder]

Pre-Viking Triple Bezel Gold Ring with Garnets, 3rd Century AD

A very similar ring was found in royal burial at Aarslev (Denmark), that seems to have been made from a small gold plaque, lavishly decorated with filigree and inlaid with dark purplish type of garnets known as almandine. Its similarities to a fibula from the same hoard indicate that it was part of a set of jewelry in the Roman style, and a coin of the Emperor Geta (211-12 AD) underlines this connection. However, the style of the mount with three pairs of shoulders merging into a single hoop is distinctly Scandinavian.