Forged iron about 7” length as survived, this spear was deformed by bending the point as well as twisting the joint with the socket which contains remnants of the wood haft. The result would require force beyond that of a single warrior in battle and in fact, was done, probably with heat, to render the spear unusable, “ritually killed” for burial with the warrior. Destroying metal had spiritual significance for Vikings, best demonstrated by the ritual of killing an enemy’s spirit by breaking ringjarn against stone. Vikings were buried with their weapons, some intact an some rendered impotent as here. How the distinction was made is yet to be discovered.
