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Cool FindsArchaeologists Unearth Early Medieval Sword Engraved With Mysterious Runes in a Cemetery in EnglandDating to the fifth and sixth centuries C.E., the burials held a trove of grave goodsbut the team was particularly impressed by the sword, which was covered in intricate decorations Researchers created a 3D scan of the sword. Ash LentonArchaeologists have discovered an early medieval cemetery in southeastern England. Inside one of its treasure-filled burialswhich date to the fifth and sixth centuries C.E.they have also unearthed a well-preserved sword.Found in a mans grave, the weapons silver- and gold-plated hilt is engraved with patterns, and a ring is fused to its pommel (the top of its handle). Its long blade sports a runic script, reports theGuardians Dalya Alberge. Remarkably, researchers also recovered parts of the swords scabbarda sheath of wood and leather lined in beaver fur.Swords like this are very special, Duncan Sayer of theUniversity of Central Lancashire, the sites lead archaeologist, tells Smithsonian magazine. It looks like the man it was buried with is hugging it. The hilt and guard end up at head and shoulder height, visually intermeshed with his face and his personal appearance.The sword might have been a gift from a royal, Sayer adds, and it may have been used for generationssignifying social statusbefore accompanying its last owner to the grave. It gives him authority, he says. An X-ray of the sword Dana Goodburn-BrownArchaeologists have excavated 12 burials in the cemetery, which they think could hold as many as 200 interments. The sword-hugging mans grave also contained a gold pendant engraved with a dragon or serpent, which researchers think might have been a treasured keepsake belonging to a female relative, per the Guardian.All of the mens graves contained larger weapons, like spears and shields, while the womens graves held knives, brooches, buckles and other artifacts. The sword will soon be featured on BBC Twos Digging for Britain, which is hosted by anthropologistAlice Roberts.Its an extraordinary Anglo-Saxon cemetery, with really beautifully furnished graves, a lot of weapon burials where you find things like iron spear-points andseaxes, which are Anglo-Saxon knivesand then theres this astonishing sword, Roberts tells the Guardian. Ive never seen one thats so beautifully preserved.Researchers are working to understand the weapons significance and markings. In particular, the ring attached to its hilt indicates an interesting origin.Its been suggested that swords had their own distinct identity, and the ring on this one may suggest that it is a gift from a king or important lord, Sayer tellsNewsweeks Flynn Nicholls. Anearly medieval bucket atop one of the graves Duncan SayerHoping to shed new light on funerary practices, conservator Dana Goodburn-Brown is studying and preserving the sword in a lab. Her analysis shows that the body wasnt covered right away, perhaps giving loved ones time to say their goodbyes, writes the Guardian.Because the weapon is in the lab, Sayers team hasnt yet examined all of its mysterious runes. They dont often say anything that we can understand, he tells Newsweek. But they would have been meaningful to the people who used and saw the sword and understood its story.The cemetery also holds foreign objects likeScandinavian andFrankish grave goods, which researchers say reflect a changing political landscape in fifth- and sixth-century England.After the cemeterys artifacts are excavated and conserved, theyll travel to theFolkestone Museum in Kent. Researchers have said the graves are near Canterbury, north of Folkestone, but they havent divulged the cemeterys exact location.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Archaeology, Artifacts, British History, Cool Finds, England, History, Medieval Ages, Rituals and Traditions, Weapons
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