In November 2024, the Army Museum in Białystok unveiled an impressive historical treasure: a Viking-era sword, dated between the 9th and 10th centuries. This exceptional discovery was made by a museum employee, Szczepan Skibicki, during a dive in the Supraśl River in the Podlachia region of Poland in the summer of 2022. The sword, accompanied […]
Swords
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
Unique Characteristics of Late Bronze Age Swords Discovered in the Balearic Islands
A recent study published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences explores the development and unique characteristics of Late Bronze Age swords found in the Balearic Islands (Spain). These weapons, dated between 1000 and 800 B.C., reveal a fascinating intersection between local traditions and imported technologies, reflecting the increasing connectivity of the Western Mediterranean during this period. […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
The Norwegian Vikings Possessed an Abundant and Disproportionate Number of Swords
A recent study published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology reveals that Norwegian Viking society was significantly more violent than that of Denmark. This finding is based on a detailed analysis of skeletal traumas, weapons, and archaeological evidence reflecting the social and political dynamics of these ancient Scandinavian peoples. The study offers an innovative perspective […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Viking “Ulfberht” 9th Century Sword Recovered from Vistula River in Poland
A Viking sword from the 9th to 10th centuries was accidentally discovered a few days ago at the bottom of the Vistula River in Włocławek. According to experts, this is an extraordinary find, as only thirteen weapons of this type have been found in Poland until now. The sword has been handed over for preservation […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Medieval Long Sword with Decorated Blade Found in the Grave of a Six-foot-tall Man in Sweden
During an archaeological survey in Lilla Torg, Halmstad, Sweden, archaeologists made a very unusual discovery—a well-preserved, large medieval sword. The sword’s blade measures over a meter long and was found in a tomb where the sub-medieval convent of the Church of St. Anne once stood. The tomb was beneath the floor of the south nave […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
Seven Bronze Age swords and a treasure with 6,000 silver coins unearthed in Germany
The State Office for Culture and Monument Preservation (LAKD) presented on Wednesday three valuable discoveries made last year by volunteer archaeologists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. These include seven Bronze Age swords, 6,000 silver coins from the 11th century, and a treasure with a reliquary, also from the 11th century. During the presentation of the findings, Culture […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The sword embedded in the rock of the precipice of Rocamadour for 9 centuries
Durandal (or Durandarte) was the famous sword of Roland, the Frankish knight who died at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass on 15 August 788 by attack of the Basques. The accounts of that battle and the subsequent fate of the sword are plagued with mythical stories with little or no historical or archaeological basis. For […]
