[MR] History Blog: Magnet Fisherman Finds Viking Sword

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the History Blog reported on the discovery of a Viking sword from
Oxfordshire, England. The sword was recovered from the River Cherwell by a
"magnet fisherman".

The blog author was not familiar with magnet fishing. It is a means of
trolling a body of water for iron or steel artefacts with powerful magnet
attached to a rope. It has become a popular hobby, particularly in England.

Apparently the author doesn't watch (or maybe maybe wants to forget) that
magnet fishing was demonstrated in two episodes of Josh Gates' EXPEDITION
UNKNOWN television series. The technique was also explored in the episode,
"England's Vanished Crown Jewels" which aired on 15 March 2017 (and in a
mind-numbing blizzard of reruns since then!). In the later episode "Lost
Spanish Fortune Found", which first aired on 14 June 2017, Josh was again
introduced to magnet fishing by "famed" English metal detectorist Gary
Drayton (a regular on THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND). In both episodes Josh
showed complete ignorance of magnet fishing, which is . . . well . . . a
bit fishy. It presents either a continuity problem for Josh, or a
believability problem for us (or at least for me, as I frequently take note
of such gaffs).

So back to the sword. It appears to be a Petersen Type M, and is thought to
date to between 850 and 975 CE. The sword is complete, except for its
wood-and-leather grip, and although somewhat corroded it is in remarkable
condition. After conservation it will hopefully be displayed in a museum.

You can see the blade and read the whole story at
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/69649 .

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆