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LOT 1363
Viking Age Iron Bearded Axehead
9TH CENTURY A.D.
7 1/4 in. (758 grams, 18.5 cm).
With triangular section narrow blade widening to a broad bevelled edge with square chin, lateral flanges to the socket.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.163, for the typology of Viking axes, letter B.
FootnotesThe axe belongs to a category of bearded axes. The skeggöks (bearded axes) had a long edge, designed to split tree-trunks into planks and beams. Usually the beard was at the bottom end of the blade, but some axes did sometimes have extra long blades.
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