Researchers accompanied hunter Einar Ambakk, who found the sword, back to the site with a metal detector, but were unable to find any other artifacts nearby.
Lars Pilø, an archaeologist at Oppland County Council told Fox News that the sword had been lying on the mountain surface for around 1,100 years. “That a sword should survive more than a thousand years in the open is hard for some people to believe,” he explained, but added that, for professional glacier and high altitude archaeologists, it is less surprising. “Previously we have found iron arrowheads that are even older, with the same degree of preservation,” he added.
In a post on the Glacier Archaeology Program’s website, Secrets of the Ice, Pilø speculates that, given the inhospitable terrain, it is possible that the sword’s owner became lost during a blizzard. “It seems likely that the sword belonged to a Viking who died on the mountain, perhaps from exposure,” he said.
That's the sad thing about walking around in the mountains in the US. It was a stone age culture and there are no cool rusted old swords or gold hoards.
ReplyDeleteI Call BS! NOPE! modern maufacture~ tossed outside last week- Fame today!
ReplyDelete