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What was it like?
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- In the ship
burial at Sutton Hoo, the dead
person's sword lay on top of
his sarcophagus (big coffin) too.
- It was made of iron in a very
complicated way. This made it very strong.
- Its pommel (the end of the
handle) was made of gold. It was inlaid with garnets (red
jewels). This is called 'cloisonné work'.
- The handle was of wood around
the iron core.
- The sword was originally kept
inside a wooden scabbard (slip-case)
- This was lined with wool.
- It was decorated with two
cloisonné work bosses (knobs).
- There was a beautiful
cloisonné work 'slider' which fixed the scabbard to a sword-belt.
- There were also two tiny
cloisonné work pyramids. These are thought to have been
toggles (like on a duffle coat) on leather straps. These
were for tying the sword into the scabbard.
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