This Viking sword was found by reindeer hunters high in the mountains of Oppland County. It may have belonged to a Viking who got lost and died here 1,100 years ago.

Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.

Einar Ambakk

Reindeer hunters in Norway were surprised to find a surprisingly well-preserved Viking sword while hunting in a high-altitude area.

Secrets of The Ice, a Norwegian ice archaeology organization, reports that reindeer hunters in Norway discovered a 1,200-year-old Viking sword. Reindeer hunter Einar Åmbakk and two friends were hunting in the high mountains of Oppland County, Norway, when they stumbled upon this ancient sword.

The sword was wedged between two rocks on a plain filled with small boulders that dot the Norwegian countryside, known as a scree. Although the blade was rusty and any organic material that was attached to it, such as leather straps or bone and wood trim, had rotted away years ago, it was remarkably well preserved. The extreme cold and low pressure may have prevented further oxidation or degradation from occurring.

Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/Oppland Provincial Council The Viking Sword.

He then posted a picture of this sword on social media, prompting researchers to further investigate the sword as well as the site of the find. Researchers were able to determine that the sword dates back to 850-950 AD and was likely owned by a Viking swordsman.

The researchers also returned to the scree-covered mountains with reindeer hunters, a local metal detectorist and a local archaeologist.

This team investigated the site, but was unable to find any further artifacts. However, they were able to determine that the shovel had not been covered by any permafrost or buried beneath rocks. Rather, they realized that the sword must have simply been left on the surface of the mountain thousands of years ago.

We will never know why the Viking was traveling through this desolate countryside and how the sword, an incredibly valuable tool and commodity at the time, came to be abandoned there, but researchers theorize that it may have been left there after a Viking got lost during a particularly horrible blizzard.

Although we will never know exactly what happened, this sword gives us a glimpse into the past, capturing a moment when a sword was abandoned on a barren hill over a thousand years ago.

Next, read about the remarkably well-preserved medieval sword that was discovered in a Polish bog. Then, learn about the artifact-filled Viking ship that was recently discovered.