In what sounds like a classic fable come to life, an 8-year-old girl from Sweden found an ancient sword while swimming in a local lake.
According to The Local, the water level of Vidöstern lake was very low this year due to a drought, which might have contributed to why the young girl, Saga Vanecek, spotted the sword so easily. The relic was taken to the Jönköpings Läns Museum where curators confirmed that the sword is over a thousand years old, possibly dating to the pre-Viking days of the 5th century AD. “It’s about 85 centimeters long, and there is also preserved wood and metal around it,” said the museum’s Mikael Nordström. “We are very keen to see the conservation staff do their work and see more of the details of the sword.”
For now, the sword won’t be available for display since it has to undergo a preservation process that could take up to a year. After the sword was discovered, several teams and researchers from the museum were sent out to search the area, asking the little girl to keep her finding a secret in order to prevent people from tampering with the area.
“I was outside in the water, throwing sticks and stones and stuff to see how far they skip, and then I found some kind of stick,” explained Vanecek. She was asked if she wanted to be an archeologist, but she said that she wanted to be a doctor, a vet, or an actress. She’s not interested in saving the world or in becoming the next Arthur.
