NOVA: Secrets of the Viking Sword

00:00:01 The Vikings were some of the fiercest warriors of all time

00:03:14 But it has been exaggerated.

00:05:27 from the eighth through 11th centuries.

00:07:41 Ric Furrer is starting out on the task of a lifetime.

00:09:43 for a very long time

00:12:00 from the Middle Ages that have been found

00:13:59 as far as North America and Central Asia.

00:16:25 It has to be robust and resilient

00:18:35 NARRATOR: As part of their mystical practices

00:21:33 NARRATOR: Closed at the top and vented from the side

00:23:42 But if the Vikings didn't know how to make crucible steel

00:25:55 so we should have an ingot in there.

00:28:16 ArcelorMittal produces

00:30:32 with a scanning electron microscope

00:32:32 that emerged in the Viking era

00:35:06 you can see that some parts of the lettering

00:37:08 NARRATOR: During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church

00:39:09 or what this inscription meant

00:41:36 The fuller allows longer blades, wider blades

00:43:55 the living often took precautions

00:45:46 But Ric believes they did, and thinks it offers final proof

00:48:19 and has made one final discovery.

00:50:54 NARRATOR: He uses increasingly fine grained stones

00:53:50 NOVA is also available for download on iTunes.