AALBORG, DENMARK—The Local reports that a plumber and a machine operator working on a city street site in northern Denmark uncovered a well-preserved, well-made sword. Archaeologist Kenneth Nielsen of the Historical Museum of Northern Jutland said the weapon measures about 43 inches long, weighs just over two pounds, and features a rounded longitudinal groove, which would have reduced its weight. He added that the sword was found on the oldest layer of paving on one of the city’s central streets, and that items found there usually date to the 1300s—a period in Danish history that witnessed a series of internal power struggles. Swords like this one are typically found in noble burials, Nielsen said, so he thinks the owner of the sword may have been defeated in battle, and his weapon lost in a layer of mud covering the roadway. To read about a 1,000-year-old sword discovered in Norway, go to “Artifact: Viking Sword.”
