Archaeologists in rural Kent, UK, have unearthed a “actually unbelievable” Sixth-century sword from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery close to Canterbury. A number of different putting objects have additionally been discovered on the identical website.
It’s exceptionally nicely preserved; the silver-and-gilt hilt has a finely crafted adorned sample, and the blade is embossed with runic script. Components of the weapon’s leather-and-wood scabbard – and its beaver fur lining – have additionally survived. A hoop is hooked up to its pommel, which archaeologists consider may symbolize an oath to a king.
The weapon’s situation is so spectacular that it’s being in comparison with the famously well-preserved Anglo-Saxon sword that was found at Sutton Hoo within the English county of Suffolk in 1939.
The precise location of the latest discovery has not been disclosed as a result of additional excavations are deliberate. Up to now, 12 burials have been excavated and it’s thought 200 extra exist within the space, relationship from the sixth to fifth centuries.
“We’re protecting the title of the location below wraps. It’s a really wealthy cemetery. It could be an actual tragedy if it grew to become well-known earlier than we’ve excavated it,” Duncan Sayer, the lead archaeologist and professor of archaeology on the College of Central Lancashire, instructed the Guardian.
He mentioned the sword is “actually unbelievable, within the prime echelons of swords, an elite object in each method, which is great. It rivals the swords from Dover and from Sutton Hoo.”
A golden pendant inscribed with a serpent or dragon was additionally discovered alongside the weapon. Archaeologists say such pendants would have belonged to girls with lofty statuses.
The discoveries will probably be included in a forthcoming BBC six-part sequence known as “Digging for Britain.” “I’ve by no means seen one which’s so superbly preserved,” professor Alice Roberts, an instructional who presents the present, instructed the Guardian. “I’ve by no means seen one which’s so superbly preserved. It’s a rare Anglo-Saxon cemetery, with actually superbly furnished graves, loads of weapon burials the place you discover issues like iron spear-points and seaxes, that are Anglo-Saxon knives – after which there’s this astonishing sword.”
