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A 700-year-old sword was recently reeled in by a fisherman in Poland — offering a rare glimpse into warfare in the Middle Ages.
The discovery was announced by the Capital Conservator of Monuments in Warsaw last month.
In a Facebook post, the department said the lucky angler found the sword in the Vistula River.
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“It was supposed to be this big a fish – but it turned out to be this big a sword!” the post read.
“As you can see, the Vistula hides some real treasures.”
Experts believe the newfound sword dates back to the 13th or 14th century, around the time Warsaw was founded. (Stołeczny Konserwator Zabytków via Facebook)
The fisherman surrendered the sword to local authorities, who transferred it to local experts.
A team is now working to preserve the artifact for future study.
“A sword this old, found in what is now Warsaw, is unique.”
The Facebook page’s post noted that the sword is preserved “almost in its full length” and features both a spherical pommel and a cross mark on its grip.
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Anna Magdalena Łań, a chief specialist with the city of Warsaw, told Fox News Digital that experts are still studying the sword.
“The sword is dated to the 13th or 14th century, which is the time when Warsaw was founded,” Łań noted in an email translated from Polish to English.
The weapon measures over 31 inches long, including its hilt, according to local officials. (Stołeczny Konserwator Zabytków via Facebook)
“A more precise date may be determined thanks to the cross mark, which is the ‘signature’ of the blacksmith who made it,” she added. “Research is ongoing.”
She said the length of the sword, including the hilt, is over 31 inches.
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“I don’t know the weight, but the sword is quite light because [of a] very large extent of corrosion,” Łań said.
“A sword this old, found in what is now Warsaw, is unique.”
“The sword was found in a river, meaning it was discovered without context – that is, without other artifacts that could tell us more about it.”
The circumstances of why the sword was dropped in the river are now lost to time.
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Łań noted that swords were not deposited ritually in 13th-century Poland; they were more of a pagan tradition than a Christian one.
“A more precise date may be determined thanks to the cross mark,” a city expert told Fox News Digital. A close-up of the mark is seen above. (Stołeczny Konserwator Zabytków via Facebook)
She concluded, “The sword was found in a river, meaning it was discovered without context – that is, without other artifacts that could tell us more about it.”
The weapon is one of many fascinating archaeological discoveries made in Poland this year.
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In Gdańsk, Poland, archaeologists recently found a medieval knight’s tomb beneath a former ice cream parlor.
Months earlier, a pair of pedestrians found a 2,500-year-old dagger on a Polish beach, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
