Hiker taking a rest finds a 1,200-year-old Viking sword in great condition

FoxNews.Com ^ | October 23, 2015 | Jenn Gidman

[ETL]

Goran Olsen was enjoying a leisurely hike recently in Norway when he stopped near the fishing village of Haukeli, about 150 miles west of Oslo. Under some rocks along a well-traversed path, he made a discovery that's now the envy of every detectorist in Scandinavia: a 30-inch wrought-iron Viking sword, estimated to be about 1,200 years old, CNN reports.

One would think a sword that old would be so decrepit it could never be wielded again, but a Hordaland County archaeologist says it just needs a little polish and a new grip to be good to go.

"The sword was found in very good condition," Jostein Aksdal notes, per the Local. County conservator Per Morten Ekerhovd adds, per CNN: "It's quite unusual to find remnants from the Viking age that are so well preserved … it might be used today if you sharpened the edge." The extreme weather in the area likely had something to do with the sword's relatively unscathed condition: The mountains are covered in snow and ice six months out of the year, and there's no humidity in the summer, so the sword would have been protected.

No one's sure what the blade's backstory is yet, but scientists are already thinking beyond winter and into the springtime thaw. "When the snow has gone in spring, we will check the place where the sword was found," Aksdal says.

[ETL]

Viking sword ping.

[Carthego delenda est]

No photo of the actual sword?

[JohnG45]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3351358/posts

[Bullish]

Oh! So that’s where I left it.

[Paladin2]

Better to get a usable 45 ACP....

[ETL]

[Larry Lucido]

"Oslo desu-ka?"

[SunkenCiv]

Hiker finds 1,200-yr-old Viking sword

Thanks ETL.

[traderrob6]

How come that never happens to me????

[Paladin2]

U need to spend more time in Minn.

[ETL]

Sorry. Didn’t know you had posted this a few days ago.

[ozzymandus]

Better check and see if it says “Pakistan” anywhere.

[W.]

Whoever said that sword just needs a little work to be usable must be a liberal. What a ridiculous statement. Jeezow!

[SoFloFreeper]

[MtnClimber]

I wonder what kind of handle it had and how it was attached. I don’t see any thru hole that would firmly hold it in place.

[Viking2002]

I was wondering where the hell I left that thing...........

[MtnClimber]

Oh, maybe they used epoxy to attach the handle.

[Manic_Episode]

If I were the one who found the sword I would keep it and not tell anyone about it. I would use it to become the one.

There can be only one!

[SunkenCiv]

More is better than less. :’)