The Skerne sword is a Viking age sword found in the River Hull at Skerne, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.[1] It dates to the 10th century AD.
Discovery and description
editThe sword was found in an excavation by the Humberside Archaeology Unit in 1982 at a site near Skerne. The sword was interpreted as having been dropped into the River Hull from a structure like a jetty or bridge. The excavation found the wooden piles of a Viking bridge, built of oak, alongside other deposits including four knives, part of a spoon, an adze, and several animal skeletons.[2]
The Skerne sword is a pattern-welded iron sword.[1] It is inlaid with geometric designs in silver and copper wires on the hilt and was found within its scabbard. The sword can be categorised as of Petersen's Type X.[3]
The deposition of the sword has been regarded as a pagan ritual deposit into the water and highlights the importance of bridges in providing access to such ritual space.[4][5]
Public display
editThe sword was exhibited at a meeting of the Society of Antiquaries of London on 5 May 1983.[3] It is in the collection of Hull and East Riding Museum.
References
edit- ^ a b "Skerne Sword". Hull Museums and Gallery. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Dent, John (1984). "Skerne". Current Archaeology. No. 91. pp. 251–253.
- ^ a b Webster, L. (1982). "Exhibits at Ballots: 2. A Viking Age sword from Skerne, N. Humberside". Antiquaries Journal. 62 (2): 38.
- ^ Lund, Julie (2005). "Thresholds and Passages: The Meanings of Bridges and Crossings in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages". Viking and Medieval Scandinavia. 1: 109–135.
- ^ Raffield, B. (2014). "'A River of Knives and Swords': Ritually Deposited Weapons in English Watercourses and Wetlands during the Viking Age". European Journal of Archaeology. 17 (4): 634–655. doi:10.1179/1461957114Y.0000000066.