First and foremost, the presence of this sword at a Norse burial in Scotland reminds us that, despite our attempts to dig deeper into Norse life, violence was a major aspect of the Norse presence in the British Isles.¹  The sword itself is double-edged and made of iron with a leather grip, and was found with remnants of a wooden scabbard.²  Beyond that, however, the location of the burial is informative.  Found near Balnakeil Bay at the northernmost tip of Scotland, this is evidence of Norse activity and settlement in along the north and west coasts of Scotland, away from the more heavily populated Pictish east coast.  

The sword was found, along with several other weapons, in the grave of a male child.³  While one might expect to find such weapons buried with an adult warrior, the fact that they were buried with a young boy indicates that they were viewed at least in part as status symbols, not just as implements of war.