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The Snartemo Sword is a remarkable artifact from the early 6th century, found in a Norwegian grave. It was discovered in the autumn of 1933 by Richard and Olav Kjellingland on the farm Snartemo in Southern Norway. They found a large stone slab with a cavity underneath, which contained a stately tomb. Inside the tomb, they found the sword, which later became known as the Ancient Snartemo Sword.In addition to the sword, the tomb contained a complete weapon set, a silver-mounted glass beaker, a bronze kettle, a gold ring, a bowl weight of bronze, three weights of lead, rare patterned fabrics, and bear claws. This discovery provoked international attention and is referred to as "The loveliest migration time grave find to this day that was dug up on Norwegian soil".During World War II, German occupation forces tried to obtain the sword, which at that time was hidden along with other national treasures in a vault under the ordinary bank vault of the Bank of Fagernes. They were interested in the woven swastikas found next to the sword for propaganda purposes, but their request was denied.The Snartemo Sword is now part of the findings exhibited at Tingvatn Fornminnepark. At Bautaparken in Snartemo, you'll find a large model of the sword.Interestingly, Vikings unwittingly made their swords stronger by trying to imbue them with spirits. They used the bones of their dead ancestors and animals, hoping to transfer the spirit into their blades. They couldn't have known that in so doing, they actually were forging a rudimentary form of steel. The Snartemo sword, dating to 500 AD, would have been around the time that smiths were using bone-coal to strengthen their iron.