A hiker travelling between western and eastern Norway, by means of an ancient route sat down for a rest after fishing and discovered a Viking sword so well preserved that one archaeologist commented that a new handle and a good polish would see the sword usable.

1446198070_norway sword

The hiker found the sword three years ago but only recently turned it over to archaeologists.

Experts don’t know why the sword would have been left in the mountains.

“Maybe there is a grave there, or was it left there by a trader? Was it hidden there for one reason or another? The only limits are our imagination,” Aksdal said during an interview in late October. “Did someone die there? Or was there a fight, a theft, a murder or something else? We can’t say.”

A more thorough study of the site will be carried out next spring when the snow has melted.