Sword (detail)

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This picture shows a detail of the hilt of an iron sword, inlaid with silver and copper wire. The sword was found when cutting the Strathspey railway near Gorton in Moray. It is a well-preserved example of a fine Viking double-edged sword.

Both the upper cross-piece and lower guard are decorated with applied smooth silver and gold wire placed at equal intervals and hammered into the iron.

Warriors were important people in Viking society. They could show off status by the quantity and quality of their weapons. A sword such as this one belonged to a wealthy man able to decorate its hilt with precious metal.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-004-016-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.LA 1
• Date: Between 900 and 1000
  
• Material: Iron; double-edged
  Sword
  
• Dimensions: 30.50" L
  
• What: Sword
  
• Subject: Swords (NMAS Classification)
  
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Moray, Gorton (Strathspey Railway)
  
• Event:
• Description: Viking double-edged iron sword found near the Strathspey Railway, Gorton, Moray
  
• References:
  • Graham-Campbell, James and Batey, Colleen E. Vikings in Scotland. An Archaeological Survey. Edinburgh: University Press, 1998, p 105. 
  • Grieg, Sigurd. Viking Antiquities in Scotland (=Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, Part II, ed. by Haakon Shetelig). Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co., 1940, p 159. 
• Translations:
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