Excavations at Helgo XV
Weapon Investigations, Helgo
& the Swedish Hinterland

By Lena Thalin Bergman & Birgit Arrhenius
November 2005
Almqvist & Wiksell
ISBN: 9174023438
132 pages, Illustrated, 9" x 12"
$97.50 Hardcover

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The treatise here published has a starting point in weapons of iron found in the settlements at Helgo. These weapons mainly consisting of parts of swords and spearheads were found in building group 2 and could be characterized as high status weapons. In some cases the weapons had pattern welding. An important part of the treatise has been to define the technical components and levels in weapon manufacturing in the early Medieval period.

Here the technique used for producing steel and the use of special ores with trace elements specially suited for producing hard steel, different welding techniques and pattern welding is discussed. A comparative material of swords and spearheads found in Svealand but also Gotland, Oland, Ostergotland and Scania was chosen for further investigations.

Archaeology

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