Another hypothesis for the presence of two swords: If grave markers had been lost over centuries the precise location of previous burials may have been forgotten. So, the gravediggers might have hit an older grave accidentally (digging up a sword and disturbing some cremated remains) and then it was decided to put the sword in with the newer burial, filling the grave with earth and the disturbed cremated remains. (ADDED: perhaps mediaeval gravediggers would not have vrecognised cremated remains).
You gotta think, with only a couple hundred years apart, that’s like us and the early Victorians. We still have whole houses, buildings, general stuff, and cemeteries from that era!! That is what it HAD to be like for this Viking! The burial ground was visible and delineated for them. And the older sword could WELL have been passed down from his great great grandpappy, or something!!
Best explanation, for my money, on why the burials were there is that the enclosure was a CHURCH enclosure. The guy, whoever he was, went on Crusade, came back, and was buried next to the WOODEN church in the middle of the field, inside the church's enclosure. The church then became abandoned and simply rotted away. If more of the field was surveyed, maybe with resistivity, rather than magnetometry, maybe the postholes of a medieval church would be discovered there??? Totally fascinating.
@@mattskustomkreations Well, there's plenty of buildings in the archaeological record that just have timber posts rammed into the ground as the basis for the whole building. I'm sure some of the early churches must have been built this way, at least in areas where building stone was very difficult to come by.
unfortunately archeology is notoriously SLOOOOOOOOOOOW, and for all we know more stuff has been found and now just sits in a box on a shelf waiting to be studied at some future point
not likely, pretty much all Templars where French, bit of English, Spanish and Italian no Templar temples or even farms in Finland, Teutonic is possible as they where at least active in the area but far more likely a normal knight
Get in a swordfigjt with him, then you will see how skilled he really is! He had to work fast with stock steel to make this programme even happen, fairplay
Consider this: What if the burial was of a warrior with a long line of service and he was buried not only with his sword but also that of an ancestor who also gave service. If possible compare the DNA of the principle grave resident with that of the additional bones. It's not at all unusual for families to keep and treasure relics from their past ancestors.
I have a two Sudanese swords that were in use 120 years ago. One has a blade that is 600 years old the other is a running wolf marked blade that is 500 years old. They were in use up until the British captured them in the 1890's. In fact I often think about the Sudanese fighters who preserved them and passed them down for centuries. European traders would bring old blades to North African countries to trade them, some were captured in the crusades. However the climate and traditions preserved some excellent examples.
Water powered wheels or man power, realy they had grinders capable of several hundred rpm. Also metal files and grind stones. I own one 14th century sword and several napoleonic swords, the 19th century swords are incredible blades. However the temper of the castile sword is amazing, it was a Sudanese piece. When I cleaned it the blade was engraved with the castile arms and the north star. The Sudanese shortened the blade and put a new hilt on it... in fact the Sudanese blacksmiths only recently stopped making comparable blades by hand. My dad lucked out and got a sword in the 1940's he use to joke it was made from a leaf spring. Only after his death did I clean the sword and noticed a castile makers mark.
I hear the people would sometimes bury in the earthen remains of old forts. Seems reasonable that they would connect the grave of warriors with such ancient military sites. Now I get it. A long pointy tip is less durable and is a "point" of failure that can be avoided by taking the tip off the design.
The earlier sword is not necessarily pre-Christian or pagan. First of all, there's really no such thing as a "Viking sword", at least not in terms of a sword being actually made by pagan Vikings. Like everyone else, Norse pagans involved in Viking activities got their swords from makers in Christian lands. These places were sophisticated enough to have established the necessary infrastructure for professions like bladesmithing, cutlers, and armorers. Making a fine sword in the Middle Ages was rarely something done by just one individual. It was a multi-step process, and the forging of the blade was only the beginning. Another master would do the finishing grinding, polishing, and sharpening. Yet another master would mount a hilt onto the blade, and another would make the scabbard, etc., etc. The finest swords during both the Viking Age, AND during the Middle Ages, were made in the Holy Roman Empire, in the Rhine region of southern Germany, as well as in northern Italy, specifically Milan and Brescia.
I have always had a theory that swords were often carried way past there fashion date. If you have a sword thats great dispite it being very old why would you throw it away. Like grandads old hammer. It still works and its well made so why replace it?? your not going to refuse to take a sword on the battle field because its old fashioned and carry i pitch fork instead are you???. So to me the fact that the viking sword was on top of the medieval one makes perfect sense. If you should get dismounted then the long sword would be very unweildy with a single handle. So to have a shorter faster sword would make absolute sense despite it being much older maybe a old family heirloom???. There are many cases of blades being much older than there hilts by 200 yrs or so. If that swords hilt was never damaged then why replace it. In other words if it aint broke dont fix it.
Если меч сломался , из его остатков трудно узнать легенду о славном рыцаре.У этих рыцарей не было качества оружия,значит их судьба была предначертана Божьей волей.И в настоящем времени душа и останки рыцаря потревоженные, может быть история правды судьбы преподаст урок-раннего феодального строя.
I suggest they are relatives. Who lived on the land earlier? Burials were used as markers of tribal or clan territorial markers in Nordic areas in Pre-christian times. So, This is up around Lopi, so who was the landowner up there? they would have the records if this man was part of the weaponed classes.
Could it be that they found an ancient gravesite then reburied them together? Or maybe they wanted to bury thek together frim the begining and already knew where the older warrior was buried.
When "archaeologists" try to decipher what they find in burials .. they ALWAYS think they have to color inside the lines, or it makes no sense to them ... simple thimgs, common sense and reality never occur to these types when investigating .... They are entirely clueless about "Christianity" for instance ... What they actually know about it, you could write on the head of a pin ... Just the statement "you arent supposed to bury things or items with a person in a Christian burial" proves 100% that they are not reliable investigators...
he's talking about finland like it was some special unique country back then with their "forests and cold winters" dude what do you think sweden is or norway?? even today most of sweden is covered in forests and we also have arctic winters. this guy...
I hope the lady landowner will let you do follow ups. That land has much to teach us. Vikins were even in America. We're all connected. Modern Dna stuff has proven we're all connected.
Pommels do NOT always act as a coubter balance. Many, including "viking swords" had half hollow pommels. Meaning that solid chunk the smith put on for a pommel is constructed incorrectly whicj makes it too heavy.
I know that I am probably wrong, or in the minority, or will be told that I am in the comment's at some point anyway, but in my opinion, anyone who uses modern tools to make a medieval weapon is cheating. They didn't have access to these power tools etc, 500 to a thousand years ago, but they still managed to make incredible weapons. Does that make them better smiths than modern smiths? I also don't like blades made today, using modern power tools. It just doesn't feel right. For instance, if I was going to use a Katana, I would rather use one that's been hand folded 500 times, rather than use one that's been put under a power hammer. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if one of those swords wasn't an offering, the burnt one. Also, I couldn't help but both spot and wonder what an AK47 outline is doing in a sword workshop?
I’ll quote a Turkish soldier speaking of the Korean War. The fuller is there to help with getting the back out of The body. As the flesh clamps around the blade. He was speaking of a bayonet he used in service during the war.
more than likely he used modern tools because of time constraints during the making of this documentary. he obviously needed to have them done by the time the documentary was done shooting.
I'm sure he had more than enough skill to make one using old techniques, but the time is short. Makes me think also about how people think only the old techniques were the best or better than today, fact is we can know remove more impurities than before. I'm sure today's blades would hold up better than one made in medieval times. As is usually the case..."they have only three days to do it"....
@Macdonaldacademy so what your telling me is they went with the cheaper option that even I can build in my back shed with my grinder and smelter. Look as I said no disrespect ment over your work but I would of much preferred watching you forge a blade the way it was done in the Viking times not the modern day technique
Another hypothesis for the presence of two swords: If grave markers had been lost over centuries the precise location of previous burials may have been forgotten. So, the gravediggers might have hit an older grave accidentally (digging up a sword and disturbing some cremated remains) and then it was decided to put the sword in with the newer burial, filling the grave with earth and the disturbed cremated remains.
(ADDED: perhaps mediaeval gravediggers would not have vrecognised cremated remains).
The history and science here are excellent. The script and narration are melodramatic
Thank you so much for posting these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You gotta think, with only a couple hundred years apart, that’s like us and the early Victorians. We still have whole houses, buildings, general stuff, and cemeteries from that era!! That is what it HAD to be like for this Viking! The burial ground was visible and delineated for them. And the older sword could WELL have been passed down from his great great grandpappy, or something!!
To be able to make a sword like that back then. Mind blowing. What an object.
Best explanation, for my money, on why the burials were there is that the enclosure was a CHURCH enclosure. The guy, whoever he was, went on Crusade, came back, and was buried next to the WOODEN church in the middle of the field, inside the church's enclosure. The church then became abandoned and simply rotted away. If more of the field was surveyed, maybe with resistivity, rather than magnetometry, maybe the postholes of a medieval church would be discovered there??? Totally fascinating.
I would think even a wooden church would have a stone foundation…
@@mattskustomkreations Well, there's plenty of buildings in the archaeological record that just have timber posts rammed into the ground as the basis for the whole building. I'm sure some of the early churches must have been built this way, at least in areas where building stone was very difficult to come by.
it must feel amazing being able reproduce a sword from so long ago. And he obvious does this with a passion.
I would love to know what else is under that field surely 10 years later the Fins have done more excavations. Need a follow up documentary..
unfortunately archeology is notoriously SLOOOOOOOOOOOW, and for all we know more stuff has been found and now just sits in a box on a shelf waiting to be studied at some future point
Actually, the medieval sword fits perfectly the XIII century. Even a sword enthusiast can tell you that.
Great documentary, he could have been a Templar knight by what they've found out
not likely, pretty much all Templars where French, bit of English, Spanish and Italian no Templar temples or even farms in Finland, Teutonic is possible as they where at least active in the area but far more likely a normal knight
I love the medieval techniques he uses
Very interesting sword making
another first class video. ive just subbed
Get in a swordfigjt with him, then you will see how skilled he really is! He had to work fast with stock steel to make this programme even happen, fairplay
Very exciting
Thank you I'm enjoying these videos a great deal was finished cavalry's motto I think the finish equivalent of hack them apart
He didn’t bury himself, it's the folk around him, maybe his soldiers we're still hedging
their bets on Christianity
Consider this: What if the burial was of a warrior with a long line of service and he was buried not only with his sword but also that of an ancestor who also gave service. If possible compare the DNA of the principle grave resident with that of the additional bones. It's not at all unusual for families to keep and treasure relics from their past ancestors.
The Viking sword may have been a family heirloom.... The ashes could be from someone who had a different funeral rite preference.
I have a two Sudanese swords that were in use 120 years ago. One has a blade that is 600 years old the other is a running wolf marked blade that is 500 years old. They were in use up until the British captured them in the 1890's.
In fact I often think about the Sudanese fighters who preserved them and passed them down for centuries. European traders would bring old blades to North African countries to trade them, some were captured in the crusades. However the climate and traditions preserved some excellent examples.
@@samparkerSAM that is awesome! You're lucky to have such treasures 😀
Para regt badge on his shirt
Please have audible translation so I can listen as a podcast. BOO!!!
33:24 ... so using the Cavalry Sword on horseback, the other for being on the ground
so how did they grind back then and what where their tools like, l think that is almost as interesting as the swords themselves.
Water powered wheels or man power, realy they had grinders capable of several hundred rpm. Also metal files and grind stones. I own one 14th century sword and several napoleonic swords, the 19th century swords are incredible blades. However the temper of the castile sword is amazing, it was a Sudanese piece. When I cleaned it the blade was engraved with the castile arms and the north star. The Sudanese shortened the blade and put a new hilt on it... in fact the Sudanese blacksmiths only recently stopped making comparable blades by hand. My dad lucked out and got a sword in the 1940's he use to joke it was made from a leaf spring. Only after his death did I clean the sword and noticed a castile makers mark.
They would have hammered and chiseled it in i believe during forging. Still nicely made
I hear the people would sometimes bury in the earthen remains of old forts. Seems reasonable that they would connect the grave of warriors with such ancient military sites.
Now I get it. A long pointy tip is less durable and is a "point" of failure that can be avoided by taking the tip off the design.
The earlier sword is not necessarily pre-Christian or pagan. First of all, there's really no such thing as a "Viking sword", at least not in terms of a sword being actually made by pagan Vikings. Like everyone else, Norse pagans involved in Viking activities got their swords from makers in Christian lands. These places were sophisticated enough to have established the necessary infrastructure for professions like bladesmithing, cutlers, and armorers. Making a fine sword in the Middle Ages was rarely something done by just one individual. It was a multi-step process, and the forging of the blade was only the beginning. Another master would do the finishing grinding, polishing, and sharpening. Yet another master would mount a hilt onto the blade, and another would make the scabbard, etc., etc. The finest swords during both the Viking Age, AND during the Middle Ages, were made in the Holy Roman Empire, in the Rhine region of southern Germany, as well as in northern Italy, specifically Milan and Brescia.
Can't believe his operating an angel grinder with no eye protection
I have done so for 30 years without issue.
Maybe the guy that was buried was the last of the old sword owners family line?
I have always had a theory that swords were often carried way past there fashion date. If you have a sword thats great dispite it being very old why would you throw it away. Like grandads old hammer. It still works and its well made so why replace it?? your not going to refuse to take a sword on the battle field because its old fashioned and carry i pitch fork instead are you???. So to me the fact that the viking sword was on top of the medieval one makes perfect sense. If you should get dismounted then the long sword would be very unweildy with a single handle. So to have a shorter faster sword would make absolute sense despite it being much older maybe a old family heirloom???. There are many cases of blades being much older than there hilts by 200 yrs or so. If that swords hilt was never damaged then why replace it. In other words if it aint broke dont fix it.
Если меч сломался , из его остатков трудно узнать легенду о славном рыцаре.У этих рыцарей не было качества оружия,значит их судьба была предначертана Божьей волей.И в настоящем времени душа и останки рыцаря потревоженные, может быть история правды судьбы преподаст урок-раннего феодального строя.
Adjust the contrast?
Could the Viking sword and ashes have been placed simply as a ploy to deceive grave robbers into looking no deeper ?
I suggest they are relatives. Who lived on the land earlier? Burials were used as markers of tribal or clan territorial markers in Nordic areas in Pre-christian times. So, This is up around Lopi, so who was the landowner up there? they would have the records if this man was part of the weaponed classes.
Like they explained, the problem is that there are NO written records of that area.
Could it be that they found an ancient gravesite then reburied them together? Or maybe they wanted to bury thek together frim the begining and already knew where the older warrior was buried.
When "archaeologists" try to decipher what they find in burials .. they ALWAYS think they have to color inside the lines, or it makes no sense to them ... simple thimgs, common sense and reality never occur to these types when investigating .... They are entirely clueless about "Christianity" for instance ... What they actually know about it, you could write on the head of a pin ... Just the statement "you arent supposed to bury things or items with a person in a Christian burial" proves 100% that they are not reliable investigators...
I wondered about that... Which Christianity? Rome or Eastern/Constantinople? Did the latter permit the burial of swords?
It was most certainly a Swedish nobelman as Finland was a part of Sweden (1157-1809).
According to DNA test conducted 2019 he was local
Perhaps they chose to bury him in the rumored grave of an earlier hero.
he's talking about finland like it was some special unique country back then with their "forests and cold winters" dude what do you think sweden is or norway?? even today most of sweden is covered in forests and we also have arctic winters. this guy...
I hope the lady landowner will let you do follow ups. That land has much to teach us.
Vikins were even in America. We're all connected. Modern Dna stuff has proven we're all connected.
It could be his family's sword.
VERY disappointing ending - why weren't the swords made, presented to the Museum for display
Why didn’t the Rachel person get to talk?
Pommels do NOT always act as a coubter balance. Many, including "viking swords" had half hollow pommels. Meaning that solid chunk the smith put on for a pommel is constructed incorrectly whicj makes it too heavy.
I can confirm the original pommel was solid.
I know that I am probably wrong, or in the minority, or will be told that I am in the comment's at some point anyway, but in my opinion, anyone who uses modern tools to make a medieval weapon is cheating. They didn't have access to these power tools etc, 500 to a thousand years ago, but they still managed to make incredible weapons. Does that make them better smiths than modern smiths? I also don't like blades made today, using modern power tools. It just doesn't feel right. For instance, if I was going to use a Katana, I would rather use one that's been hand folded 500 times, rather than use one that's been put under a power hammer. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if one of those swords wasn't an offering, the burnt one. Also, I couldn't help but both spot and wonder what an AK47 outline is doing in a sword workshop?
I’ll quote a Turkish soldier speaking of the Korean War. The fuller is there
to help with getting the back out of
The body. As the flesh clamps around the blade. He was speaking of a bayonet he used in service during the war.
I wonder if the DNA from both subjects were checked maybe they were related
father and son burial
It,sorry.
it was great watching paul work on the swords shame he had to use a modern day grinder though i thought he would of been more skilled than that
more than likely he used modern tools because of time constraints during the making of this documentary. he obviously needed to have them done by the time the documentary was done shooting.
Yes modern spring steel and a grinder are the fastest way to reproduce a medieval sword ⚔️
I'm sure he had more than enough skill to make one using old techniques, but the time is short. Makes me think also about how people think only the old techniques were the best or better than today, fact is we can know remove more impurities than before. I'm sure today's blades would hold up better than one made in medieval times. As is usually the case..."they have only three days to do it"....
I make my blades by stock-removal which is why I am a sword-maker and not a sword-smith.
@Macdonaldacademy so what your telling me is they went with the cheaper option that even I can build in my back shed with my grinder and smelter. Look as I said no disrespect ment over your work but I would of much preferred watching you forge a blade the way it was done in the Viking times not the modern day technique
Paul 77777