Bamburgh Sword

Coordinates: 55°36′32″N 1°42′37″W / 55.60899°N 1.710155°W / 55.60899; -1.710155

The Bamburgh Sword is an Anglo-Saxon artefact from the seventh century. It was uncovered during an archaeological excavation at Bamburgh Castle in 1960 by Brian Hope-Taylor. The sword was missing until his death in 2001, when it was found in a suitcase in his garage. It is unique amongst swords of its period, having been formed by six strands of iron and pattern welded into a blade, resulting in speculation that it may have been the sword of a king.

Description

The Bamburgh Sword measures a similar size to a Roman spatha, and would have originally measured about 76 centimetres (30 in) in length. It is an Anglo-Saxon weapon which has been dated to the seventh century, and was likely to have been buried in either the tenth or eleventh centuries. It has a pattern welded blade which historians have identified by x-rays as being unique to the time period, in that it uses six strands of iron to form the sword, when no other blades of that era were made of more than four strands. It would have taken a blacksmith around two months to create the blade; archaeologist Paul Gething said that to "produce a weapon of this calibre required state-of-the-art technology of the time, those who witnessed the creation of this weapon would have thought it the equivalent of magic."

Bamburgh

Coordinates: 55°36′14″N 1°43′20″W / 55.604°N 1.7222°W / 55.604; -1.7222

Bamburgh (/ˈbæmbrə/ BAM-brə) is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census.

It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family (see William George Armstrong); and its association with the Victorian heroine, Grace Darling, who is buried there.

Its extensive sandy beach was awarded the Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. The Bamburgh sandy hills, an area of sand dunes which are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, stand behind the award-winning beach. Bamburgh is popular with holidaymakers and is within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

Bamburgh Castle, then called Din Guardi, may have been the capital of the Brythonic kingdom of Bryneich between about AD 420 and 547. In 547 the castle was taken by the invading Angles led by Ida son of Eoppa and was renamed Bebbanburgh by one of his successors, Æthelfrith, after his wife Bebba, according to the Historia Brittonum. From then onwards the castle became the capital of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia until it merged with its southern neighbour, Deira, in 634. After the two realms united as Northumbria the capital was moved to York.