CNN
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The medieval sword is on display at a Dutch museum after being accidentally discovered during a drage surgery in a river in the heart of the country.
According to a statement from the museum on Tuesday, the sword was discovered during regular maintenance at the Linsten Estate on March 1, 2024 and was donated to Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden (National Bone Museum) in Leiden.
From 1050 to 1150, the sword, measuring 1 meter (3.3 feet) long, symbolized by golden copper, with the shape of a cross and a spiritual symbol known as the infinite knot.
It features a long cross guard and nut-shaped pommel, the museum said.
“The sword is very well preserved after a thousand years. Only organic ingredients such as wooden grips and leather packaging have succumbed to time,” the statement reads.
“Due to the oxygen-deficient environment of moist soil, iron rarely corrodes. The traces of the wooden handle are still visible on the preserved sword,” he added.
The sword appears to have been intentionally deposited in the river, with no sign of a sheath found nearby.
“Medieval swords were personal property. They were buried with their owners or ceremonially deposited in the water,” the museum said.
“In the latter case, they are often very well preserved,” he added.
When it was forged, the area would have been ruled by the nearby city of Utrecht, but he would have been frequently at odds with the increasingly powerful Earls of Holland and Flanders.
“During this era, we also saw changes in military tactics and weapons. Vertical slashes from horses gave way to horizontal thrusts between armor,” the museum said.
“This sword, which can be wagged with one hand, embodies a transitional period suitable for both techniques.”
