31 The sword is part of the archaeological collection of the Janusz Peter Regional Museum in Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland (Muzeum Regionalne imienia Janusza Petera w Tomaszowie Lubelskim), inven- tory number MT/1163/A. The artefact was found in Nowosiółki Kardynalskie, Lubycza Królewska Commune, Tomaszów Lubelski District, Lubelskie Voivodeship, Poland. It was an accidental find, as the sword was discovered during ground works conducted at a private property. The context of the find was defined thoroughly as “excavated 40–60 cm below the ground level.” The analysed specimen is actually a fragment consisting of a small portion of the blade broken c. 5 cm below the lower guard, and the tang broken right below the upper guard. A greater part of the blade and the pommel are missing 1 (Fig. 1). The lower guard remains solidly attached to the blade and bears traces of silver wire plating decorated with Viking Age Scandinavian animal style motifs, identified as the Jellinge style. Basic formal features of the cross- guard as well as its ornamentation suggest that the sword should be classified as Petersen’s Type R or S 2 (1919) and treated as an import (Michalak, Pudło 2008, pp. 362–363). There are some differences JOLANTA BAGIŃSKA, PIOTR N. KOTOWICZ, PAWEŁ KUCYPERA, KRZYSZTOF RYBKA A SWORD FRAGMENT FROM NOWOSIÓŁKI KARDYNALSKIE, TOMASZÓW LUBELSKI DISTRICT. MATERIALS AND CONSERVATION REMARKS between “classic” examples of these types and the sword from Nowosiółki Kardynalskie. From the side view the sword’s guard is rather narrow and slightly concave on both sides. Viewed from the top it appears wide and oval, with both ends being rounded. Nar- row and slender guards are more typical for Type R swords (Petersen 1919, fig. 113; Peirce 2002, p. 97), but sometimes, although rarely, they are combined with Type S pommels (Peirce 2002, pp.100–101, 106–107). Both types of lower guards are usually of lenticular shape when viewed from the top (Pe- tersen 1919, figs. 113–116). More seldom they have rounded ends, as in specimens from Boye, Busdorf or Lutowo (cf. Müller-Wille 1973, figs. 9–10; Peirce 2002, p. 106; Siwiak, Zajączkowska 2008, fig. 1). Therefore, while relying on the shape and decoration of the guard only, it is impossible to assign it to one of the mentioned types. The distribution of finds of both types might be helpful in this case. Swords of Type R are almost exclusively known from Scandinavia (Petersen 1919, p. 140–142; Jakobsson 1992, p. 40–41, 212, 225, Plate 2; Sørheim 1997, p. 31–40, fig. 12–14; Martens 2004, p. 134; Thålin-Bergman 2005, Plate 7–8; Stal- sberg 2008a, Plate I). A few specimens were found in Western Europe (cf. Petersen 1919, p. 142; Walsh 1998, Plate 8; Żabiński 2007, Plate 2). There are al- most no finds of Type R swords in Central, 3 Eastern and Southern Europe (cf. Ruttkay 1976; Kirpičnikov 1986, Plate I; Mandel 1991; Jakobsson 1992, p. 225; Шитов 1994; Kovács 1994; Кирпичников, Измайлов 2000; Yotov 2003; Marek 2005; Strzyż 1 Dimensions of the sword: preserved length – 15.6 cm; pre- served length of the tang – 6.9 cm; thickness of the tang – 0.6 cm; length of the lower guard – 11.3 cm; height of the guard – 1.3–1.5 cm; thickness of the guard – 2.3 cm; preserved length of the blade – 7.4 cm; width of the blade – 5.3 cm; thickness of the blade – 0.35–0.5 cm. 2 A. Geibig found the differences between these types so small that he decided to combine them into one type, namely his Kombinationstyp 10 (Geibig 1991, p. 52–54, fig. 1, 11). I. Martens (2004, p. 134) disagrees with this opinion. 3 A fragment of a Type R sword from Hamburg, Germany is an exception (Müller-Wille 1970).