Pieces of an iron and steel sword

This iron and steel sword was found in a man's grave at Ballinaby on Islay in the Inner Hebrides. He was buried with a range of Scandinavian objects between 850 and 950. Swords such as these were expensive items, the products of skilful smiths.

The double-edged sword was made in the sophisticated pattern welding technique. Strips of iron and steel were intertwined like strands in a cable, then hammered flat and drawn to an edge. The sword is now broken and much corroded.

Steel is a harder form of iron but it is difficult to work, and was not made in large quantities before 1100. The pattern welding technique was the pinnacle of the blacksmith's art, producing objects with the resilience of iron and the strength of steel.

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