• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Archaeology News
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum
Archaeology News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Archaeology

Archaeologists discovered a pair of 1,200-year-old Viking swords in Sweden

Dario Radley by Dario Radley
October 30, 2022
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Linkedin.Share on RedditShare on Whatsapp

Archaeologists with Arkeologerna, a part of Sweden’s National Historical Museums agency, discovered a pair of 1,200-year-old Viking-age swords standing upright from a stone tomb in a burial mound in Västmanland, Sweden.

Archaeologists discovered a pair of 1,200-year-old Viking swords in Sweden
Credit: Arkeologerna / Sweden’s National Historical Museums

Archaeologists discovered three stone tombs on one of the burial mounds, graves added a few centuries after the original mounds. As researchers began excavating these tombs, they unearthed a pair of Viking-age swords, according to the news release.

The site has 100 graves and two burial mounds, with the discovery of three stone tombs added centuries later into one of the mounds indicating further burial activity.

Archaeologists told Live Science that whoever installed the iron swords perpendicular to the surface around 1,200 years ago did so on purpose as it would have taken a lot of effort — probably involving a rock or hammer — to wedge the weapons around 16 inches (40 centimeters) into the ground.

“The placement of the swords reflects an action with a lot of symbolism,” Arkeologerna archaeologists Anton Seiler, Fredrik Larsson, and Katarina Appelgren told Live Science in an email. “When you find swords in graves — which you don’t do very often — they often lie beside the buried individual, as a faithful companion on the voyage to the next world.”

RelatedStories

40,000-year-old mammoth tusk boomerang found in Poland may be the oldest in the world

40,000-year-old mammoth tusk boomerang found in Poland may be the oldest in the world

June 27, 2025
Hidden treasures uncovered during A47 roadworks reveal secrets of Norfolk’s past

Hidden artifacts uncovered during A47 roadworks reveal secrets of Norfolk’s past

June 24, 2025

According to Anton Seiler,  the swords could have been placed on the mound to honor and remember one’s relatives, being a physical marker that family members could visit and touch 1200 years ago.

Around 20 Viking Age swords have been discovered in Västmanland, but this is the first time that two swords have been discovered in the same burial mound and left standing untouched.

Viking Age swords were expensive items, thus burying them in tombs was a “huge investment,” as it rendered them “unavailable for future use,”  the team added. Both swords are broken and about 35 inches (90 cm) length. “They shattered when pressed into the ground, and more than 1,000 years has also contributed to degradation,”  the team noted.

Excavations also uncovered cremated human and animal bones, as well as a gaming piece and parts of a comb and bear claws. Archaeological remains of agricultural farming dating from the Bronze Age or older Iron Age have also been discovered, indicating earlier occupation.

According to archaeologists, burial grounds in the Viking age were considered places for both the living and the dead. Long after their burial, people would perform ceremonies, eat sacrificial meals, and otherwise interact with the dead.

The researchers are still unsure why numerous individuals were buried in the mound centuries later, or how to determine their gender. However, the remains sent for an osteological analysis should provide more insights.

ShareTweetShareShareSend

You May Also Like...

British archaeologists uncover lost Egyptian city of Imet with rare tower houses and temple to cobra goddess Wadjet
Archaeology

British archaeologists uncover lost Egyptian city of Imet with rare tower houses and temple to cobra goddess Wadjet

June 30, 2025
Intact 7th century Etruscan tomb discovered in San Giuliano necropolis near Rome
Archaeology

Intact 7th century Etruscan tomb discovered in San Giuliano necropolis near Rome

June 30, 2025
DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük
Anthropology

DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük

June 29, 2025
Rare 1,800-year-old Roman soldier’s wrist purse unearthed in Czech Republic reveals life on the empire’s frontier
Archaeology

Rare 1,800-year-old Roman soldier’s wrist purse unearthed in Czech Republic reveals life on the empire’s frontier

June 28, 2025
Ancient Roman breakwater found off Bacoli shows ingenious engineering at imperial fleet base
Archaeology

Ancient Roman breakwater found off Bacoli shows ingenious engineering at imperial fleet base

June 28, 2025
40,000-year-old mammoth tusk boomerang found in Poland may be the oldest in the world
Archaeology

40,000-year-old mammoth tusk boomerang found in Poland may be the oldest in the world

June 27, 2025

Follow us


Instagram
247K

Facebook
110K

Threads
43K

LinkedIn
12K

Twitter
6K

YouTube
1K
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

May 18, 2025
Genetic study reveals the origin and diversity of the Huns

European Huns were not of Turkic origin but had ancient Siberian roots, linguistic study reveals

June 24, 2025
Secrets of the mysterious Gobi wall revealed: archaeologists uncover imperial purpose behind 200-mile structure

Secrets of the mysterious Gobi wall revealed: archaeologists uncover imperial purpose behind 200-mile structure

May 28, 2025
Sinkhole in York uncovers remains of medieval St Leonard’s Hospital, one of northern England’s largest

Sinkhole in York uncovers remains of medieval St Leonard’s Hospital, one of northern England’s largest

June 22, 2025
Viking-era boat burial unearthed in Norway reveals 1,100-year-old remains of woman and her dog

Viking-era boat burial unearthed in Norway reveals 1,100-year-old remains of woman and her dog

June 9, 2025
$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius' eruption

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

Oldest US firearm discovered in Arizona: a 500-year-old relic of Coronado's expedition

Oldest US firearm discovered in Arizona: a 500-year-old relic of Coronado’s expedition

British archaeologists uncover lost Egyptian city of Imet with rare tower houses and temple to cobra goddess Wadjet

British archaeologists uncover lost Egyptian city of Imet with rare tower houses and temple to cobra goddess Wadjet

June 30, 2025
Intact 7th century Etruscan tomb discovered in San Giuliano necropolis near Rome

Intact 7th century Etruscan tomb discovered in San Giuliano necropolis near Rome

June 30, 2025
DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük

DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük

June 29, 2025
Rare 1,800-year-old Roman soldier’s wrist purse unearthed in Czech Republic reveals life on the empire’s frontier

Rare 1,800-year-old Roman soldier’s wrist purse unearthed in Czech Republic reveals life on the empire’s frontier

June 28, 2025
Ancient Roman breakwater found off Bacoli shows ingenious engineering at imperial fleet base

Ancient Roman breakwater found off Bacoli shows ingenious engineering at imperial fleet base

June 28, 2025

Archaeology News online magazine

Archaeology News is an international online magazine that covers all aspects of archaeology.











Categories

  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • Download
  • Game
  • News
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Paleontology
  • Quiz
  • Tours

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum

About  .  Contact  .  Donation

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to improve your experience and enable functionality and security of this site. Further detail is available in our Privacy Policy. By accepting all cookies, you consent to our use of cookies and use of data.