What initially was a day trip to the lake soon turned into one of the most special days of her life. We are talking about Sasga Vanecek, an 8-year-old girl who last summer in 2018 made one of the most significant discoveries in the area at Lake Vidöstern in southern Sweden. What she initially thought was a stick turned out to be a metal object with a handle. According to her statements to The Guardian, she alerted her father as soon as she realized it was not a stick or rock like the ones she used to find.
In her statements to The Local, she also explained that at first, she thought about throwing it back into the water, but seeing that it was sharp and rusty, she decided not to. The family contacted the Jönköpings läns Museum, where archaeologists determined that it was a relic dating back approximately to the 5th or 6th century AD. Mikael Nordstrom, museum staff, explained that it was about 85 cm long, with wood and leather that had survived almost intact over the centuries.
Pre-Viking discovery in Vidöstern Lake
In Tånnö, Sweden, lies Lake Vidöstern, which gained international attention after the discovery of a pre-Viking sword in its depths in 2018. This discovery was made by an 8-year-old girl, Saga Vanecek, who did not expect that a day trip to the lake would become one of the most special days of her life. What she initially thought was a stick ended up catching her attention because it had a shape, texture, and condition completely different from what she usually found in the depths of the lake. In her statements to The Guardian, she explained the moment of the discovery:
“I was crawling on the lake bed on my hands and knees, looking for stones to slide, when my hand and knee felt something long and hard buried in the clay and sand. I pulled it out and saw that it was different from the sticks or rocks I usually find. One end had a tip, and the other had a handle, so I pointed it toward the sky, put my other hand on my hip, and shouted, ‘Daddy, I found a sword!”
In addition, she added that “Dad went to show it to our neighbors, and they said it looked like a Viking sword. Dad couldn’t watch the football match in the end”. In his statements to The Local, he also added that “I picked it up and was going to drop it back into the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a bit pointy at the end and all rusty. When I saw that it was bent and rusty, he ran over, and I grabbed it”.
What was the discovery about?
After getting in touch with the Jönköpings läns museum, the archaeologists were able to determine what it was: a relic dating approximately to the 5th or 6th century AD. A pre-Viking sword 85 cm long that has inexplicably survived the passage of centuries underwater, keeping its wooden and leather parts almost intact. This has not been the only discovery made in the lake.
Mikael Nordström, museum staff, explained, “When we searched a couple of weeks ago, we found another prehistoric object; a brooch from roughly the same period as the sword, so what it means—we don’t know yet—but maybe it’s a sacrificial site. At first, we thought they might be graves located near the lake, but we no longer believe that. We don’t know why it ended up there. It’s not every day you step on a sword in the lake!”.
These kinds of discoveries are incredibly valuable for archaeology, as they not only focus on areas that may not have been examined and that still hide even more secrets, but also shed light on the gaps that still exist in the timeline of our ancestors.