Overview
- Six-year-old Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt noticed a rusty blade sticking from the ground during a class outing in Hadeland, Innlandet, and archaeologists identified it as a single-edged sword from the Merovingian Period.
- Teachers alerted local experts rather than removing the object, and the blade was carefully recovered and transferred to Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History for conservation.
- Specialists describe the weapon as heavily corroded and say X-rays and metallurgical analysis will help reveal its construction and possible use.
- The find predates the Viking Age, offering a window into early medieval Scandinavia and the people who lived in a region long known for Iron Age and Viking-era artifacts.
- The case echoes past chance discoveries in Scandinavia reported by regional outlets, including a Swedish child’s pre-Viking sword find in 2018, underscoring how routine fieldwork and quick reporting protect heritage.