Well-Preserved Anglo-Saxon Sword Uncovered

News December 27, 2024

Excavation of Anglo-Saxon cemetery, Kent, England
Duncan Sayer
SHARE:

CANTERBURY, ENGLAND—The Guardian reports that a sword dated to the sixth century has been discovered in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery in southeastern England. The weapon features a gild and silver decorative pattern on the hilt, and runic script on the blade. A ring on the pommel is thought to symbolize an oath to a king or another individual. Traces of the leather and wood scabbard lined with beaver fur were also recovered. The grave also contained a gold pendant inscribed with a serpent or a dragon. Duncan Sayer of the University of Central Lancashire said that twelve burials have been excavated at the site so far. Weapons have been recovered from the men’s graves, while the women’s graves held knives, brooches, and buckles. In all, the cemetery is thought to contain about 200 burials. To read about an Anglo-Saxon feasting hall unearthed in southeastern England, go to "The Kings of Kent."

  • Features November/December 2024

    The Many Faces of the Kingdom of Shu

    Thousands of fantastical bronzes are beginning to reveal the secrets of a legendary Chinese dynasty

    Read Article
    Courtesy Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
  • Features November/December 2024

    Europe’s Lost Bronze Age Civilization

    Archaeologists have discovered more than 100 previously unknown megasites north of the Danube

    Read Article
    Courtesy Barry Molloy
  • Features November/December 2024

    Chalice of Souls

    A Maya jade heirloom embodies an enduring sacred tradition

    Read Article
    Jon G. Fuller, Jr./Alamy
  • Features November/December 2024

    Exploring Ancient Persia’s Royal Fire Temple

    At a remote lake in the mountains of Iran, archaeologists have identified the most revered Zoroastrian sanctuary

    Read Article
    Ruins of a fire temple at the site of Takht-e Soleyman in northwest Iran
    Bridgeman Images