A hiker in Norway found a 1200-year-old sword in excellent condition.
County Conservator Per Morten Ekerhovd described the discovery as "quite extraordinary."
"It's quite unusual to find remnants from the Viking age that are so well preserved … it might be used today if you sharpened the edge," he told CNN.
Outdoorsman Goran Olsen made the unusual find when he stopped for a rest in Haukeli, an area known for fishing and hunting about 150 miles (250 kms) west of capital, Oslo.
The rusted weapon was lying under some rocks on a well-known path across a high mountain plateau, which runs between western and eastern Norway.
One archeologist reports that "it could be basically as good as new with a little polishing and a new grip."
You wouldn't want to do battle with it, but it'll slice bread. Maybe not the crunchy "Monk's Bowl"-type artisanal medieval bread you'll pay $5 for, but the basic supermarket loaf? Right through it. Fuck it right up.
The real problem here is what Olsen doesn't realize: that having taken up the blade, he now has a responsibility to defend Hordaland for all eternity.
