SWAG - Viking hand axe with beautifully carved handle in the shape of a Dragon

[frankieboy1959]

I found this axe about 15 years ago. It is around 15-18 inches long ( pair of office scissors next to it in one picture for scale ). It was found on top of a small mountain in the forest over looking the city of Wiesbaden, Germany. Very tough terrain, more like mountain climbing then metal detecting. Found with a Whites XLT, it was about 18-20 inch inches deep, it gave a very iffy signal, one that at times most of us would not even dig if it was the end of the day and we were really tired ( and yes it was the end of the day and I was REALLY tired at the end of a 6 hour hunt with nothing to show for the day ).

 

[jabbo]

That is quite some axe. Being that it has a silver handle I'd say the person who lost it was not a peasant. Gotta be old if it was that deep.

 

[frankieboy1959]

Jabbo the handle is not silver. I am really not sure what it is made of, bone or jet or amber, not sure. The patination is dark grey, almost black and smooth to the touch. If you look closely at the end of the handle you see the head of the dragon with its mouth open and the huge teeth sticking out. These pics definitely do not do this justice, this is a museum piece, for sure. My pride and joy of my collection. It has been suggested that this is Viking, realistically I suppose it could be as old as Roman, as the area of Germany I am in is rich in Roman history. But realistically I would say it is at least a 1,000 years old.

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[jabbo]

I agree, definitely a museum piece. Congrats digging down that deep.

 

[dgruff]

Wow, that's something else!

 

[frankieboy1959]

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