ROGALAND COUNTY, NORWAY—Øyvind Tveitane Lovra discovered an iron sword in dense clay while plowing a field on his family farm in southwestern Norway, according to a Live Science report. “We were about to start sowing grass on a field that has not been plowed for many years,” Lovra said. About half of the blade is missing, but parts of the handle and cross guard have survived. In all, the artifact measures about 14.5 inches long. Archaeologists have dated it to between A.D. 900 and 1050. X-rays have revealed inlaid inscriptions along the encrusted blade, which suggest the weapon was a rare Ulfberht sword made in the Frankish Empire, explained Sigmund Oehrl of the University of Stavanger. “We are not aware of similar swords being found in Rogaland before,” he said. To read about an eleventh-century warrior’s sword unearthed in southern Norway, go to “Artifact: Viking Sword.”
