ANCIENT VIKING FIGHTING KNIFE, 879-1067 AD

Cambridgeshire, England. Just over 7” total length with tapered “whittle tang” which identifies these, as they were used without guards. Originally mounted in a wood or antler grip with the tang tip bent to secure the mount. (See https://leatherworkingreverend.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/dsc01382.jpg and https://inhabitat.com/melting-glaciers-reveal-items-lost-in-the-stone-age/ for similar examples with original grips.)  Straight back blade of a relatively thin section for slashing, and not thick like a work knife. A slashing weapon, designed for throat-cutting, these were so esteemed by Vikings that it was these, rather than the larger scramseaxes, that were buried with the warriors. Virtually every old town in Cambridgeshire has a recorded Viking history. Ely Abbey was destroyed in 870 by Danish raiders and Huntingdon was a staging place for Danish raids until 917, to mention two. Excavated and professionally conserved with Plexiglas display mount.