This beautiful one-handed Viking sword is a reproduction of a find discovered in 1949 at the Gnёzdovo archaeological complex near Smolensk, Russia, during the excavation of L-13 burial mound. Dating between 920 and 950 AD, and classified as Type E2 according to Petersen's Viking sword typology, the original piece was found split in two and stuck in the ground.
Like many historical examples of the period, the pommel is a two-part construction: the full tang of the blade is anchored to the lower section, and the pommel cap is secured to the base by means of two rivets. Both components of the pommel are visually separated by a twisted wire knotted on one side. Between the three segments of the lid, there are also gaps inlaid with twisted wire.
On one side, the blade had a stylized representation of a man, and on the other side, a spiral framed by a pair of crosses. But what really made this sword stand out was its finely crafted hilt with elaborate cellular ornamentation: the guard and pommel were adorned with round pits that were arranged in lines. Slots embedded with twisted wires connected these gaps together, forming a lattice-like checkered pattern.
