5th-6th century AD. A double-edged cutting sword; the blade complete; the point is well preserved; both cutting edges show strong traces of use on the battlefield, with battle-nicks along their length; the blade is completely straight and carries a hefty tang; the parallel fullers are very well marked, running to about 4.5cm of the point; the guard (probably from another sword) is formed from a chip-carved gilt iron plate, divided into two sections, decorated by grooves, and ending on both extremities with bird heads (eagles?) on one side, smooth on the back side; the iron grip with a circular golden plate, horizontally divided by five circles; the pommel absent with two original iron supports for the grip in situ. See Behmer E., Das zweischneidige Schwert der germanischen Völkerwanderungszeit, Stockholm, 1939; Périn P., Kazanski M., La tombe de Childéric, le Danube et la Méditerranée, in Villes et campagnes en Neustrie, (Europe médiévale, 8) Montagnac, 2007, pp.29-38; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, The Merovingian Period, Europe without borders, Berlin, 2007. 806 grams, 88.5cm (34 3/4"). From the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s, accompanied by an archaeological report by military specialist Dr. Raffaele D’Amato. An Eastern Germanic or Byzantine sword with gold chip carved guard and sheet gold grip; in excellent condition considering the antiquity of the blade. The general shape of the sword and the chip-carved guard points to a likely Byzantine origin, probably from a Constantinople (Byzantium) workshop. At the moment there are no known direct parallels of such a guard, but it shows similarities to the Pontic (Byzantine) sword of Pokrosk-Voshod (Périn-Kazanski, 2007, fig.5, p.31) and of the identical sword of MVF of Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2007, p.327, cat.I.34.5), both dated to the mid-5th century AD. That particular item seems to have been produced by Eastern Goths, deeply influenced by Byzantium (of which they were formally subjects"). The eagle terminals of that sword suggest a Crimean Gothic attribution, finding parallels with the Bosphoran eagle-buckles, considered to be of Ostrogothic-Italic origin. The prototypes of the eagle buckles from the southern Crimean cemeteries are the Gotho-Gepidic examples in the Middle Danubian region (Staatliche Museenzu, Berlin, 2007, p.77"). An Eastern Roman origin of this weapon is very likely, on the basis also of the style of the chapes of other swords like the one from Zaragiz’s grave (Périn-Kazanski, 2007, fig.6, n.1, p.31"). The presence of an unusual guard suggests the Constantinople origin of our specimen.