A lot of people dream of finding ancient treasure, but very few people ever do. One young girl got lucky with she made the find of a lifetime while swimming in Southern Sweden. Eight-year-old Saga Vanecek was looking for rocks when her hand ran across something hard. She picked it up and realized it was a sword.
It wasn’t just any sword, though; it was more than 1,500 years old.
The girl explained:
“I felt something with my hand, and at first I thought it was a stick. Then, it had a handle that looked like it was a sword, and then I lifted it up and shouted: ‘Daddy, I found a sword!’”
Saga found the sword in July, but the family only recently announced it. They were asked not to share the news because the government feared it would cause people to rush to the site in the summer to do some treasure hunting of their own at Tånnö on the shore of Lake Vidösten.
Many people felt that since Saga found the sword, she should be crowned the “Queen of Sweden.”
There had not been any official word on whether that will happen. Sadly, Saga doesn’t even get to keep the sword. Saga’s father explained that experts from the Jönköping county museum dated it to the 5th or 6th century AD, before the Viking era.
Annie Rosen, who works at the museum, was able to inspect the sword.
She said:
“I was on holiday, but when I saw the pictures I went straight away. You cannot imagine such a sword – so well preserved.”
Another expert at the museum, Mikael Nordström, added:
“How it came to be there, we don’t know.”
Her father posted about the find on Facebook, saying:
“With today’s press release we can finally reveal what Saga found in Lake Vidösten this summer… a sword from the Iron Age! Estimated to be about 1500 years old, complete with its scabbard (sheath) made of wood and leather, it is the first sword of its kind to ever be found in Scandinavia!!! Press from newspaper, radio, and TV interviewed Saga today regarding her sensational find. Very exciting…”
“Here is a bit of a story about the day Saga found the sword….
“The Saga of Saga’s Sword
“Just minutes before the opening kick of the battle between France and Croatia in the 2018 Soccer World Cup in July, there was a reminder of a possible battle from over a thousand years ago. It was July 15th that 8-year-old Saga Vanecek stumbled upon something special in the muddy clay on the bottom of Lake Vidösten in southern Sweden. She picked up the object, lifted it high above her head, and shouted as if she was Pippi Longstocking, ‘DADDY! I FOUND A SWORD!’
“Sword experts have weighed in and believe the sword to be about 1,500 years old, from the Iron Age.
“Now, questions are many, and fantasies abound as we wonder what happened so long ago which led to a sword, in its scabbard, being lost to the bottom of the lake. Did someone fall overboard, or through the ice during a winter trek? Was a wealthy noble buried in the lake, as from a scene in Game of Thrones? The mystery will forever be known only to Lake Vidösten.”
Saga’s family wishes that she could keep the sword, but they understand its historical significance.
Instead, they are hoping to raise money to help get her a replica of the sword. Her father added:
“Since Saga will likely never again see/touch the Sword which has sparked so much excitement and joy worldwide, we have started a fundraising campaign to have an exact replica made by a real-life swordsmith. Please consider donating to Saga’s fundraiser, so she can have a tangible memory of her historic discovery!”
Although Saga hasn’t been crowned queen and doesn’t have the sword in her possession, she does have an amazing story to tell.
Most people would love to find something like this. It’s something Saga will never forget and a story she can pass down to her children someday.
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