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Day: 30 September 2026

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Viking Symbols & Artefacts - Ancient Nordic Tattoo inspiration

Gjermundbu Sword

Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I. The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.

Gjermundbu Sword – I really love to go through the archives of museums to find all the info you get from finds like this sword. Look at the details. The Gjermundbu Sword is a double-edged iron sword with inlaid silver decoration, Petersen type R (J. Petersen 1919). The sword closely resembles Rygh 504. The pommel is five-part, forged from several pieces; the two outermost parts form the snouts and heads of two animal heads facing away from each other. Two through-going rivets are visible beneath the animal heads in the X-ray photograph.

The transitions between the pommel sections, as well as the transition between the pommel and the upper guard, are marked with braided and twisted silver wire. The sword pommel is densely decorated with inlaid, dotted bands forming interlacing patterns and spirals. The decoration on the upper and lower guards consists mainly of multi-line, dotted bands with spiral ends and similar motifs.

On the upper side of the lower guard, two intertwined serpent figures can be seen, one on each side of the grip. On the underside, there is a simple leaf motif on each side. The silver inlay is partially melted away, particularly on one side of the lower guard.

The blade itself is forged from longitudinally welded strips, with a relatively thin blade and a shallow, broad fuller. The sword is illustrated in Sørheim, H. 1997, figs. 12–14.

Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I.

The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.

Total sword length: 93.3 cm
Blade length: 78.5 cm
Guard lengths: 13.9 and 8.5 cm
Pommel height, including the upper guard: 4.7 cm
Maximum blade width: 6.3 cm
Blade thickness: 0.5 cm

Pictures: Kulturhistorisk Museum; Unimus Portalen – unimus.no
Gjenstand: C27317; Bestillingsnr: Cf53886_453_C27317_a
Fotograf: Vegard Vike; Helgeland, Kirsten Lisens: CC BY-SA 4.0

Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I. The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.
Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I. The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.
Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I. The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.
Viking Age grave find from Gjermundbu (farm no. 105, property no. 1), Haug parish, Norderhov parish district, Buskerud. Grave I. The find was reported to the University’s Oldsaksamling (Collection of Antiquities) on 30 March 1943. Curator Sverre Marstrander and assistant Charlotte Thomas were immediately sent to the site. On the basis of Marstrander’s report of 17 April 1943, the following may be stated: The find was made during the excavation of a mound. The Gjermbu or Gjermundbu farms are situated high in the hills at the upper end of Haugsbygd, with extensive views over the Ringerike plain and westward towards the mountains of Telemark.