This is a weapon that once caused the greatest threat and showed the power of the person holding it—a sword, a massive artefact with sharp blades forged from iron. Having mastered the skills to use it, one could kill the enemy with a single blow. Historians agree that it is the noblest of weapons—helping build nations and their history. The first imported swords, having found their way to Lithuanian territory, were double-edged, and could be used both for slashing and thrusting. Initially, however, local blacksmiths made single-edged swords reminiscent of huge knives, and only somewhat later began to forge double-edged ones. Among Lithuania’s Iron Age artefacts, quite a number of swords from the Rhineland and Scandinavia are found. They were adapted for the local market, in which unique hilts, guards and sheath bindings characteristic of Baltic swords also circulated. It is quite possible that they were taken from the enemy in battles. Swords with silver-encrusted hilts, or sheaths decorated with precious metals, are found even more rarely. In the early Middle Ages, swords with silver hilts and guards became frequently used weapons that distinguished Lithuanian soldiers from other tribes.