In Warsaw, a fisherman accidentally found a rare medieval sword with a cross on its hilt in the Vistula River. It is assumed that the weapon belonged to a knight of the Knights Templar. Experts have already confirmed its historical value and transferred it to the State Archaeological Museum for further research. This is reported by UNN with reference to Whats The Jam.
Details
As stated in the publication, fisherman Andrzej Korpikiewicz went to the reservoir just to look at the "historically low water level." But he noticed a piece of metal sticking out of Warsaw's main river – the Vistula. At first, he thought it was a piece of construction rebar and pulled it out of the water. After cleaning off the dirt, leeches, and snails that clung to the metal, the man realized that he had found an almost complete sword, lacking only a sharpened tip. The sword had a cross-shaped symbol in the middle of the hilt and a spherical pommel.
People have been looking for something like this for years, but I stumbled upon it completely by accident. I then realized that this was probably a very interesting find, and immediately thought that it should be given to someone who knows more about such things.
The man wrapped the sword in wet clothes to keep it moist and kept it at home overnight. In the morning, Andrzej reported the find to the authorities, as required by Polish law.
He took the medieval artifact to the office of Warsaw monument conservator Michał Krasucki. Experts confirmed that the sword dates back to the Middle Ages and could have belonged to a soldier of the Knights Templar. Michał praised the condition of the sword, as well as Andrzej's quick actions.
The finder brought it to us as soon as possible, thus fulfilling his legal obligation. It's great that he knew what to do. The sword is preserved almost along its entire length, with a characteristic spherical pommel and an interesting cross sign on the hilt. We have confirmed that it is a medieval sword; we will learn more after further analysis
The Vistula River still hides many treasures