River engineering project unearthed medieval sword, nearly a thousand years old and “well preserved”
A sword that looks like a historical relic was discovered during a dredging project in a river in central Netherlands. The National Museum of Antiquities of the Netherlands recently exhibited it and confirmed that the sword was cast between 1050 and 1150 AD, about one meter long, with gold-plated copper, cross symbols, etc., and the iron is of high quality.
CNN reported that the sword was found by workers during a river dredging project at a private estate in the Netherlands on March 1 last year, buried deep in the wet soil deposited at the bottom of the river. The estate and the local government donated the sword to the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden).
The museum said on the 24th that the sword is about one meter long and was cast between 1050 and 1150 AD. It has gold-plated copper, cross symbols and sun wheels, and the iron is of high quality.
At the same time, the museum also pointed out that the sword is still nearly intact after nearly a thousand years, with only part of the wooden handle and leather being eroded. It is speculated that it was buried deep in moist but low-oxygen soil, which prevented the iron from rusting, and traces of the hilt can be vaguely seen.
The museum further explained that in the Middle Ages, swords were regarded as a highly personal personal item. Some were buried with their owners after their death, or sank to the bottom of the water during ceremonies. In the latter case, these artifacts are usually well preserved.
