VIKING SCRAMSEAX, 9TH-10TH CENTURY

9 3/8” overall with 6 5/8” fighting blade of thin wedge section. the Viking battle knife in its mid-evolution form. This example is in stable professionally conserved condition. The blade with a pebbly surface associated with water recovered finds. The tang is notably in better preservation, indicating that it was preserved by the grip. These were gripped in bone, antler, horn or wood. Antler or horn only would have provided the tight interface which reduced the corrosive action of the water for centuries before disintegrating. Vikings traveled the inland rivers as well as the seas. This example is likely a river find, probably in England.