The Vikings were one of the most brutal warriors of all time, and only a select few of them wielded a special weapon - a sword, created using technology that was almost a thousand years ahead of time. The material itself remained unknown to their enemies for centuries. The sword was known as "Ulfberht".
Ulfbert is so unique and made of such pure steel that even today it is difficult to recreate the technology of its manufacture.
In total, about 171 units of such weapons were discovered, dating from 800 to 1000 AD. Swords have been found in ancient battlefields and Scandinavian cemeteries in different parts of Europe.
Ulfbert's mystery lies in a very high quality metal that is practically free of impurities. The alloy known as crucible steel gave swords capabilities far ahead of their time. But only in Europe at that time, and several centuries later, no one knew how to melt iron to such a high temperature in order to remove all the slags from it.
How did the Vikings, better known as barbarians, get this advanced technology?
In addition to the absence of impurities, Ulfbert also has an ideal carbon content, the incorrect content of which in the metal can make the sword either too soft or too fragile. The Viking sword has a carbon level of about three times that of other swords of its time. This fact made it more durable and flexible, and it was also much lighter than other swords, and was capable of destroying conventional steel weapons in the ninth and tenth centuries.
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The secret of making Ulfbert has been lost for about a thousand years. Experts have tried to recreate the technology for creating such swords in order to find out how they were made.
With great effort and precision, the modern blacksmith Richard Furrer from Wisconsin (USA) managed to forge a sword similar to Ulfbert's quality, trying to use technology that would have been available in the Middle Ages.
“Getting it right is the most difficult task I've ever had,” he said, adding that the Ulfbert's maker appeared to have magical powers. “Being able to make weapons out of the ground is pretty powerful. And making a weapon that can bend without breaking, remain sharp and weigh very little is something supernatural."
What does ULFBERHT mean?
The swords were marked with the inscription "ULFBERHT", but the origin of this name remains a mystery.
Researchers are still debating the meaning of the word. There are versions that this is the name of a legendary blacksmith (or a family of blacksmiths who passed on secret knowledge from generation to generation), others speak of a hidden monastery in northern Germany, a secret community of artisans, or even a lost city.
Perhaps, when scientists succeed in uncovering the meaning of the inscription, answers will be received to questions such as
- who made these elaborate swords?
- did they have some kind of advanced technology or was it much simpler than we think?
- where did this technology come from? were they heirs to the metallurgical knowledge of an advanced civilization that existed for a long time?
There is another version that the material and manufacturing technology of this sword came from the Middle East. On the Volga there was a trade route connecting the Viking settlements and the Middle East, it opened at the same time when the first Ulfberts appeared, and the last Ulfberts were made when the trade route was closed.