• Campochiaro, Province of Campobasso, Region Molise, Italy

The cemetery of Morrione was laid out in the 7^th century in irregular rows of graves oriented east-west. The dead were buried lying in a supine position. Remnants of coffins have been found in only a few instances. At a remove of just 800 meters, the cemetery of Vicenne has a nearly identical layout. A noteworthy feature of both cemeteries is the presence of 19 mounted warriors' graves, each with an accompanying burial of a horse. This burial custom is extremely rare in Italy and has its closest parallels in the Avar burial grounds of Hungary, for example the necropolis of Zamárdi. In addition to the horse burials, the specific form of earrings found in women's graves and the decorative patterns of ornamental fittings found in men's graves are closely related to those of the Avars.

In the northern half of Grave 102, a warrior was interred along with grave goods and with his head pointing west. In the southern half, the horse with full trappings was buried with its head pointing east. The form and decoration of the weapons, particularly the sword and bow, show clear parallels to Avar burials.

The hilt core and the long, narrow blade were made of a single piece. The grip was made of wood and decorated with ornamental mounts at the foot and end. The mounts are richly ornamented in Animal Style. The closest parallels in terms of both sword form and ornamentation have been found in large numbers in the Carpathian Basin dating to the late 6^th and early 7^th centuries.

• Photographed while on display from 22 August 2008 to 11 January 2009 in the exhibition "Die Langobarden. Das Ende der Völkerwanderung" at the Rheinisches LandesMuseum Bonn. On loan from the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici Molise, Campobasso.