A sword from the elite Alan burial of the 5th century near the village of Brut in Northern Ossetia

This paper discusses the characteristics of a sword with a gold-plated scabbard from the 5th century. The sword handle was long (30% of the sword's entire length). The scabbard was covered with gold plating incrusted with garnets, with an incision for an additional shoulder strap. The incision demonstrates confirms that the sword was worn vertically. In China, vertical carriage of the sword was practiced since the 5th century BC until the 18th century. In Western Europe, this was practiced until the 7th century. The long handle and sliding scabbard indicate the sword from Brut to be of Eastern, or, more specifically, of Iranian.