Archaeologists in rural Kent, UK, have unearthed a “really incredible” 6th-century sword from an Anglo-Saxon cemetery near Canterbury. Several other striking objects have also been found.
It is exceptionally well preserved; the silver-and-gilt hilt has a finely crafted decorated pattern, and the blade is embossed with runic script. Parts of the weapon’s leather-and-wood scabbard – and its beaver fur lining – have also survived. A ring is attached to its pommel, which archaeologists believe might symbolize an oath to a king.
The weapon’s condition is so impressive that it is being compared to the famously well-preserved Anglo-Saxon sword that was discovered at Sutton Hoo in the English country of Suffolk in 1939.
The exact location of the recent discovery has not been disclosed because further excavations are planned. So far, 12 burials have been excavated and it’s thought 200 more exist in the area, dating from the sixth to fifth centuries.
“We’re keeping the name of the site under wraps. It’s a very rich cemetery. It would be a real tragedy if it became well known before we’ve excavated it,” Duncan Sayer, the lead archaeologist and professor of archaeology at the University of Central Lancashire, told the Guardian.
He said the sword is “really incredible, in the top echelons of swords, an elite object in every way, which is wonderful. It rivals the swords from Dover and from Sutton Hoo.”
A golden pendant inscribed with a serpent or dragon was also found alongside the weapon. Archaeologists say such pendants would have belonged to women with lofty statuses.
The discoveries will be included in a forthcoming BBC six-part series called “Digging for Britain.” “I’ve never seen one that’s so beautifully preserved,” professor Alice Roberts, an academic who presents the show, told the Guardian. “I’ve never seen one that’s so beautifully preserved. It’s an extraordinary Anglo-Saxon cemetery, with really beautifully furnished graves, a lot of weapon burials where you find things like iron spear-points and seaxes, which are Anglo-Saxon knives – and then there’s this astonishing sword.”
