6-Year-Old Boy Unearths 1,300-Year-Old Sword on School Trip

Single-edged Merovingian Viking sword found in a field in Gran in Innlandet, Norway.

May

/ 2026

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A routine first-grade field trip turned into the discovery of a lifetime when a six-year-old boy happened upon an exceptionally well-preserved sword dating back roughly 1,300 years. Found in the historically rich region of Gran in Innlandet, Norway, the artifact offers a fascinating glimpse into the late Merovingian or early Viking Age.

The discovery was made by young Henrik Refsnes Mørtvedt, a student at Fredheim School. While exploring a plowed field at Brandbu with his class, Henrik noticed something peculiar sticking out of the ground. His sharp eyes led to the recovery of a rare single-edged sword, an artifact that has thrilled local archaeologists and historians alike.

The sword in the field near where it was found

The sword in the field near where it was found. (Kulturarv i Innlandet)

A Rare Single-Edged Find

The newly discovered weapon is what experts refer to as a "single-edged" sword, meaning it was forged to be sharp on only one side. Such swords, often called scramasaxes or saxes, were a common feature of the Merovingian period (circa 550–800 AD) and the transition into the early Viking Age.

According to the Cultural Heritage authority in Innlandet (Kulturarv i Innlandet), the sword is believed to be around 1,300 years old. This places its origins firmly in the late Merovingian era or the very dawn of the Viking Age, a time of significant cultural and martial evolution in Scandinavia.

he sword from Brandbu (left) is similar to "sword type F" in Jan Petersen's "The Norwegian Viking swords (right),

The sword from Brandbu (left) is similar to "sword type F" in Jan Petersen's "The Norwegian Viking swords (right), a typological-chronological study of the weapons of the Viking Age" from 1919. (Kulturarv i Innlandet)

The Importance of Gran and Hadeland

The location of the find is no less significant than the artifact itself. Gran is a municipality in the traditional district of Hadeland, an area renowned for its deep historical roots. The name "Hadeland" translates to "Land of the Warrior," a fitting moniker given the region's rich archaeological record of Iron Age and Viking artifacts.

Hadeland has yielded numerous significant finds over the years, from Bronze Age grave mounds to intricate Viking swords. The discovery of this single-edged sword adds another layer to our understanding of the warrior culture that thrived in this part of Norway before the legendary Viking raids began in earnest.

14 Viking age swords found in Norway

14 Viking age swords found in Norway, on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. (Peulle / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Doing Everything Right

The discovery has drawn praise not just for the artifact itself, but for how the situation was handled. The teachers and students of Fredheim School immediately recognized the potential importance of the find and contacted the archaeologists at the Innlandet County Municipality.

"We are super proud of the children who managed to see the sword in the field. Well done!" the cultural heritage authority shared in a public statement. "And we are very happy that they did everything right: They called an archaeologist”. according to a Hadeland news report.

The sword has now been transferred to the Museum of Cultural History (Kulturhistorisk Museum) in Oslo, where it will undergo careful conservation and further study. Thanks to the curiosity of a six-year-old boy, a piece of Norway's ancient martial history has been saved from the elements and preserved for future generations.

Top image: Single-edged 1300-year-old sword found in a field in Gran in Innlandet, Norway. Source: Kulturarv i Innlandet

By Gary Manners