When a group of amateur treasure seekers set out on an expedition in Poland at the end of January, they weren’t sure what they’d find. On previous trips, while sweeping the ground with metal detectors, they found fascinating trinkets, including thirteenth-century Carolingian dynasty coins. This time around, they found something more mighty: a big honking sword from the Middle Ages.
The giant blade, which was clearly meant to be handled with two hands, was found alongside two axes in the country’s Nowomiejskie district. The discovery was made by members of a group that calls itself GRYF—Biskupieckie Stowarzyszenie Detektorystyczne, which Google translates to the Diocesan Detection Association.
Alas, this is not a band of plucky private eyes, but rather a “group of history enthusiasts and treasure hunters,” according to their Facebook page. The club actually sounds pretty rad, with fun activities planned, including an upcoming hunt for Napoleonic-era artifacts. If you’ll be in Poland when it happens, you should definitely join in. They’ve also done some good in the community, having organized a cleanup of a forgotten Jewish cemetery in the woods close to the town of Lubawa in November.
The January search was conducted in conjunction with the Ostroda Museum, which will eventually make the weapons part of its permanent display. “We are starting to work on their permanent security, proper preservation is preceded by a series of x-rays,” the museum said on its Facebook page. “This year we plan to present the monuments as part of our permanent exhibition.”
The sword, which measures just under 3.2 feet (1 meter), was, as you would expect, extremely rusted and weathered by the centuries, but is otherwise well preserved, with its blade, pommel, and handle all intact. The axe blades were in similarly good condition, albeit less complete.
Details about the weapons’ origins are scant, as the museum didn’t specify their age or who might have wielded them. All that’s known is that they are Medieval in origin, though that’s vague, as the Middle Ages lasted roughly 1,000 years, from the fifth to the fifteenth century. According to a paper published by University of Lodz associate professor Anna Kowalska-Pietrzak, Poland during that time was largely inhabited by a number of Slavic tribes, though there was an invasion by Teutonic Knights in the fifteenth century.
As Archaeology News reported, the sword’s design is similar to “hand-and-a-half” weapons that were popular in Western Europe during the Late Middle Ages, and were crafted to stab through armor. The publication cited unnamed experts who said that, as the weapons were found near the Osa River, they may have spent centuries underwater, which would have contributed to their remarkably preserved state.
See, kids? Cool things happen when you put down the cellphones and go outside.
