He went fishing and caught a medieval sword. "I look: something metal is lying there"

On the Warsaw section of the Vistula, an angler - Mr. Andrzej - came across a sword that most likely dates back to the 13th century. The retrieved object ended up in the hands of a conservator of monuments, who believes that the longest Polish river still holds many secrets. The finder revealed how exactly it happened that instead of fish, he "caught" a medieval relic.

The capital's conservator of monuments has no doubts that the Vistula "hides no small treasures" . - A fisherman fished out a medieval sword from its current in Warsaw. The sword is preserved almost along its entire length , with a characteristic spherical head and an intriguing sign of the cross on the handle. The finder brought it to us as quickly as possible, thus fulfilling his statutory obligation - said Michał Krasucki.

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According to his account, the find was made in the Tarchomin area . A man fishing noticed an object sticking out of the mud, which turned out to be a sword. - It's great that he knew what to do. On Wednesday, he brought it to our office. We confirmed that it is a medieval sword . We will know more after further analysis - added Krasucki.

As the conservator recalled, the Vistula has already revealed historical artifacts many times , especially during low water levels. One of the latest was a flintlock pistol found at the height of Tamka Street.

The sword discovered by the fisherman was most likely washed out by the Vistula itself , which often changes the shape of its bottom. However, it is not yet known how it ended up there. - The Vistula still holds many secrets - Krasucki added.

Krasucki also noted that all objects originating from the earth or water are the property of the State Treasury . Each such object, having archaeological value, must be sent to conservators. Currently, the sword is in the Metal Conservation Workshop of the State Archaeological Museum, where specialists will take care of its professional protection .

The sword finder, Mr. Andrzej Korpikiewicz , also spoke. On Tuesday, he rode a scooter to the Vistula. - I look: there is something metal lying on such an inflow head (an artificial structure to protect the bank from the effects of the river current - ed.) in the water. But you often see such metal elements there, because these heads are made of reinforced concrete - he said.

As he added, at first he thought it was a hinge. He took the mysterious object out of the water and then started cleaning it. There were a lot of snails and gammarus on the sword, but after gently cleaning it, Mr. Andrzej saw the emblem of the cross . - I knew then that this would probably be a more interesting find. I immediately thought that I would have to pass it on to someone who knows about it - he emphasized.

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In his opinion, the most interesting part is the blade of the sword , which looks very well preserved. Mr. Andrzej decided that he would not be able to transport the find on a scooter, so he hid it in the grass, returned home and took the car. In the meantime, he contacted his friend, who is an amateur with a metal detector .

He told him that it would be best for the sword to be in the water as long as possible and not exposed to other conditions. So Mr. Andrzej wrapped the sword in T-shirts soaked in Vistula water. - It spent the night in the car, and this morning, my wife and I went with it to the capital's conservator of monuments . There we were met with great excitement and surprise, because it turns out that this is probably a big find - he noted.

On Tuesday evening, after finding the sword, Mr. Andrzej posted photos on a portal with archaeology enthusiasts . - It got hot, people wrote that I had found a medieval sword - he said. He also wrote to archaeologist and treasure hunter Olaf Popkiewicz , who replied that he suspected it could be a 13th-century sword .

The search community congratulates Mr. Andrzej for not taking the sword for himself. The man emphasized that he and his family enjoy visiting various museums and hope that he will be able to see his find somewhere in Warsaw.