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."
