This 8-year-old girl discovered a pre-Viking-era sword while she was swimming in a Swedish lake in the summer.
The girl, Saga Vanacek, found the relic in the Vidostern Lake while she was with her family at their holiday home in Jonkoping County.
Initially, it was reported the sword was 1000 years old; however, later, experts from the local museum deemed it was actually 1500 years old!
Mikael Nordstorm who works at the museum says that you don’t get to step on a sword in the lake every day.
Girl, 8-Year-Old Found a 1500-Year-Old Sword while Swimming
The girl probably managed to uncover this ancient sword because the level of the water was quite low at the time due to a recent drought.
She recalls how she felt something in the water and lifted it up. She saw a handle and went to show it to her dad. Her father, Andy Vanecek, said that he first thought his daughter located an unusual branch or stick.
However, after he asked a friend located nearby to closely inspect it as he was living in the village for more than 100 years; he discovered it was more than a simple branch-it was an ancient relic!
“I Felt Magical”, Says Saga
Saga said she felt like a warrior; however, her dad told her she actually looked like Pippi Longstocking. The sword was quite hard and rough and had sticky and gross brown rust, explained the girl.
The local museum where the sword is now being kept say it was quite well-preserved. Because of Saga’s discovery, the museum and local council decided to carry out excavations at the site and actually located a brooch from the 3rd century.
The Jonkoping county museum said that the investigation of the lake is still ongoing and it may actually reveal even more ancient things.
The young girl says that whenever she goes swimming at the lake again, she’ll always be looking for something she could find. She says how it felt a bit magical on that special day.
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