A common school outing ended with a historic archaeological discovery. A six-year-old boy found a 1300-year-old iron sword on a field trip, and experts believe it dates back to the beginning of the Viking Age.
The protagonist of the discovery was Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt, a first-grade student participating in a school activity in the Innlandet region, eastern Norway. While walking through a field with his classmates, he spotted a metallic object protruding from the ground and alerted his teachers.
The teachers contacted local archaeologists, who confirmed that it was an ancient single-edged sword, known as “enegget.” According to specialists, the weapon was likely made between the end of the Merovingian period and the beginning of the Viking Age, approximately 1300 years ago.
What the sword found in Norway is like
Despite its wear, it retains much of its original shape and measures about one meter in length. Archaeologists believe it could belong to the so-called “Type F,” a classification used for Scandinavian weapons from the early Middle Ages.
The discovery is considered very valuable because single-edged swords from that era are less common than double-edged Viking weapons. For this reason, researchers believe it could provide insights into the historical transition between the Merovingian period and the emergence of Viking culture.
What happened to the sword
After the discovery, it was sent to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo, where it will undergo conservation work, X-rays, and metallurgical analysis. Through these procedures, specialists will seek to determine how it was made, who might have used it, and whether it had ceremonial or military purposes.
