Kid Discovers Ancient Sword

A 6-year-old discovered a metal object in the ground. It turned out to be a Viking sword.

Innlandet County Municipality

Six-year-old Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt found this ancient sword on a class trip.

You never know what treasures are lurking under the ground. When a 6-year-old named Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt discovered a half-buried metal object, it turned out to be a sword that was made more than 1,000 years ago.

Henrik, who lives in Norway, found the sword while walking through a field with his 1st-grade class this past April. The students were trying to find rocks for an art project. Spotting the metal in the ground, Henrik had two thoughts. One was, “What if a tractor drives over the metal, and its tire is ruined?” The other was, “What if this is some kind of important object?”

“This part stuck out,” Henrik later told Hadeland, a Norwegian newspaper, pointing to the sword’s handle. “It was rust and dirt. So I thought I would pick it up and see what it was.”

That’s when the full object was revealed. It was a sword with a single-edged (sharp on only one side) blade called an enegget. Henrik’s teachers decided to call some archaeologists, scientists who study objects from the ancient past.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Vikings were from a region called Scandinavia. Henrik found the sword in Hadeland, Norway.

Experts believe the sword was made some time between the years 750 and 850 CE, at the beginning of the Viking Age. The Vikings were a group of people from a part of northern Europe now known as Scandinavia. They are best known as warriors who invaded many parts of the world. Their weapons included swords like the one Henrik discovered.

The area of Norway where Henrik found the sword is called Hadeland, which means “land of the warrior.” Many objects from the Viking era have been found there.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Vikings were from a region called Scandinavia. Henrik found the sword in Hadeland, Norway.

Archaeologist Øystein Lia believes the sword belonged to someone who was important within Viking society.

“It was most likely owned by a man, a free landholding individual and a significant [important] warrior,” Lia told Fox News Digital. “He may also have served as a military advisor to a local Viking chieftain.”

Did You Know?

The word viking means “pirate” in an ancient Scandinavian language. Vikings had a reputation for raiding new lands and taking treasures.

The Story of the Vikings

While they are known for invading other lands, Vikings were farmers in their everyday lives.

Most people think of Vikings as warriors who invaded new lands and stole whatever treasures they found. But who were the Vikings?

The story begins in Scandinavia. Today, this region includes the countries Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Back in about 790 CE, it contained many small communities of farmers and fishermen. At that time, any kind of travel was a risky adventure because most people knew little about the world around them. But in these communities, there were plenty of people who were ready for adventure. Plus, there was the possibility of finding treasures in faraway lands. This made the voyage even more tempting. So community leaders called chieftains began gathering men for these journeys. These men became known as Vikings.

The Vikings sailed in wooden ships called longships. They were good sailors. They used the position of the Sun and the stars to find their way at sea.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

This map shows the Vikings’ homelands and where they traveled. The inset shows a recreation of Viking Lief Eriksson’s route from Greenland to Canada.

These skills took them far. In the late 700s, the Vikings launched the first in a series of attacks on England. Although the English fought back, the Vikings eventually ruled England between 1013 and 1042. Viking descendants, or relatives, called Normans, took over England again in 1066.

The Vikings also attacked Ireland and founded many kingdoms there. The Irish finally defeated the Vikings in 1014. Vikings invaded many lands to the east, including Russia.

Vikings sailed west, too. They founded settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and beyond. In 1000 CE, a Viking named Leif Eriksson reached North America. It’s likely that Eriksson was the first European in North America, arriving almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

When Vikings Went to Canada

This 1882 painting shows Leif Eriksson’s arrival in Canada. Eriksson is on the right.

In the year 1000 CE, a Viking named Leif Eriksson arrived in what is now Canada. He was probably the first European to reach North America. Experts know that Vikings reached Canada because they built houses and other things there.

But what happened to Leif Eriksson? Learn more at Britannica!

WHAT'S THE WORD?

seafaring

Part of speech:

noun

Definition:

: the activity of traveling on the sea especially while working on a boat or a ship

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