Sword buried with Viking warrior 1,000 years

Scientists were surprised to discover the tomb of a left-handed Viking warrior buried with a heavy sword.

During the expansion

of a route running through the tatkuink com village of Vinjeora, Vinjefjorden, Norway, experts found four ancient tombs, Ancient Origins reported on September 2. They have existed since Viking times and are partially overlapping each other. In it, notably a warrior's grave buried with a very heavy sword.

Archaeologist Astrid Kviseth lifted the sword from the 1,000-year-old tomb and placed it in a prepared padded box. She did not know exactly how heavy the sword was, but commented that the user must be extremely strong to swing it.

To the Vikings

swords were named and sacred heirlooms that fathers left to their sons from generation to generation. The sword was also a symbol of the status of elite warriors. Because swords are difficult to forge, they are very expensive and rare.

In early medieval Viking tombs

swords were often placed to the right of the remains, said Dr. Raymond Sauvage, an archaeologist at the NTNU University Museum. Most people are right-handed so warriors often wear their swords on the left side for easy drawing. However, most of the swords in the grave were placed on the right because the Vikings believed that the afterlife was a mirror image of the real world.

In the warrior's tomb at Vinjeora, the cheap skull clothing sword is again to the left of the remains. So Sauvage suggested that this person might be left-handed. This makes the tomb a very rare and special find.

The sword was being covered by a thick layer of rust. Archaeologists hope, after analysis and X-rays, the decorations or welds on the blade will be revealed.