A rare 1,000-year-old ‘Viking sword’ has been found in near perfect condition on a river bed in Poland.
Workers carrying out dredging work in the Wisla River in the city of Wroclawek came across the ‘perfectly preserved’ sword after spotting ‘an oblong, metal object’ sticking out of the sediment.
Handing the sword over to researchers from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, when archaeologists X-rayed the weapon and dated it to before 950 AD.
They also discovered an inscription of the word ‘Ulfberht’.
Only eight such swords are known to exist in Poland and only 170 in the rest of Europe.
A rare 1,000-year-old ‘Viking sword’ has been found in near perfect condition on a river bed in Poland
Workers carrying out dredging work in the Wisla River in the city of Wroclawek came across the ‘perfectly preserved’ sword after spotting ‘an oblong, metal object’ sticking out of the sediment
Fashioned using a process unknown to the Vikings’ rivals, the Ulfberht sword was a revolutionary high-tech blade and is considered to have been one of the greatest swords ever made.
The Ulfberht swords were known for their strength, flexibility, and sharpness, and were highly prized by Viking warriors.
Sambor Gawiński from the Kuyavian-Pomeranian branch of the conservator’s office said: ‘This is an extremely valuable find.
‘We know that these so-called Ulfberht swords were produced somewhere in Central Europe, but it’s not known exactly where.
‘They were manufactured using very specific methods using carbon steel and a very precise composition.
‘The amount of carbon steel that was used was strictly defined, making the sword very strong and flexible – its durability and combat value depended on this.’
During their analysis, the researchers also discovered an inscription of the word ‘Ulfberht’.
The incredible sword wa discovered by workers in the Wisla River in the city of Wroclawek
He added: ‘More importantly, after lying in silt for over 1,000 years, the sword has been preserved in excellent condition.’
With over 40 such swords found in Norway, is is now widely presumed that the recent find also comes from the Viking era.
But Gawinski said: ‘Several theories have been posited and so far all variants are acceptable, but we need to wait for the results of more detailed research.’
Wojciech Sosnowski from the archaeology department at Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Toruń told local news website Dzień Dobry Włocławek: ‘We are dealing with a very delicate object and a very valuable one.
‘The sword needs to be urgently conserved. The situation is dynamic, we are only just collecting information about this object.’
