5 - Material and Properties of VLFBERHT Swords

Summary

THE MATERIAL OF VLFBERHT sword blades has long been the subject of research. Based on metallographic analyses of fifty-six sword blades, Alan Williams has published the theory that they were originally made from crucible steel imported from Asia. This is mainly based on a high carbon and low slag content in his samples. The author of the article at hand examined seventeen sword blades, three of which have been treated by Williams. Surface structures, verified in four cases by X-ray images and CT scans, clearly show that all of these swords have been made from a layered raw material typical of European iron and steel production. As further analysed objects show that Europeans were able to produce steel with a high carbon and a low slag content, the origin of the raw material for the VLFBERHT sword blades most likely lies in Europe.

As a result of the television documentary Secrets of the Viking Sword (produced by Nova in 2012), VLFBERHT swords, and especially the material of their blades, have received popular recognition over recent years. The hypothesis presented in the documentary is that the early specimens of these weapons are of a high quality due to the use of crucible steel that had allegedly been imported from the East by Scandinavian merchants, and that they had been manufactured in Scandinavia. This is mainly based on four publications by Alan Williams, who presented metallographic analyses of fifty-six sword blades from the early medieval period, mostly conducted by himself. Most of these sword blades are inscribed with the name VLFBERHT.

One of the swords that Williams reckons to be made from crucible steel is from the collection of the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte / Hamburg Museum (Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte / Hamburg-Museum, 1965:124). From 2014 to 2015 it was presented in the exhibition Mythos Hammaburg at the Archäologisches Museum Hamburg. Since the author of the article at hand was curator of that exhibition, he was approached by numerous visitors about the supposedly exotic material of this sword, especially since Williams’ theory had not been mentioned in the exhibition texts.

The Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte kindly gave permission to examine this sword in detail.