The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages [Hardcover]

The story of the Bamburgh Sword  one of the finest swords ever forged.In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realised that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, which had been forged in seventh-century Northumberland by an anonymous swordsmith.This is the story of the Bamburgh Sword  of how and why it was made, who made it and what it meant to the warriors and kings who wielded it over three centuries. It is also the remarkable story of the archaeologists and swordsmiths who found, studied and attempted to recreate the weapon using only the materials and technologies available to the original smith.This is the story of the Bamburgh Sword  one of the finest swords ever made. Alongside that, it gives a fascinating insight into the world of experimental archaeology  where archaeologists attempt to recreate an artefact or structure of the past using only the technologies and materials available at the time. Revelatory and fascinating... The kind of book that Wayland the Smith would have adored. The story of the Bamburgh Sword (arguably one of the finest Medieval swords ever forged)& will prove to be a welcome addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Medieval History & Archaeology collections. [A] wonderfully well-written, entertainingly discursive and absorbing account of swordcraft and archaeology. [a] wonderfully well-written, entertainingly discursive and absorbing account of swordcraft and archaeology'...a thought-provoking account of swords and warfare in early medieval Britain.This fascinating book should appeal to many . . . abundantly confirms that the Dark Ages were not so dark when it came to metalworking'The Perfe