A man from Norway, Goran Olsen, found a 1,200-year-old Viking sword while hiking a well-treaded, ancient hiking route near a fishing village 150 miles west of Oslo.
The sword is light and agile relative to its size of 30 inches and is announced to be "extraordinary" and in exceptionally good condition by Hordaland County Council.
"It's quite unusual to find remnants from the Viking age that are so well-preserved ... it might be used today if you sharpened the edge," said County Conservator Per Morten Ekerhovd, according to CNN.
Despite being dated from 750 A.D., scientists attribute the sword's good condition to the extreme weather in the area. It is a place annually covered in snow for at least six months, while in summer there is no humidity, protecting the sword from deteriorating.
Scientists are working on discovering the backstory of the sword and are already thinking beyond winter and into the springtime thaw, USA Today reports.
"When the snow has gone in spring, we will check the place where the sword was found. If we find several objects, or a tomb, perhaps we can find the story behind the sword," said Jostein Aksdal, an archeologist with Hordaland County, The Inquisitr reports.
