2 days ago
Passerby visits Poland river to see low water level — and finds medieval weapon
After hearing reports of historically low water levels at a river in Poland, a man decided to see for himself. The excursion took an unexpected turn when he noticed something in the water — and found a medieval weapon.
Andrzej Korpikiewicz took a scooter to the outskirts of Warsaw to see the Vistula River on the afternoon of July 1, he told McClatchy News on July 4. While walking along the riverbank, he noticed a rusty metal object in the shallow water.
At first, Korpikiewicz thought it might be 'a large washed-up hinge,' according to the Polish news outlet TVP World.
He pulled it out, started cleaning off the mud and uncovered a cross-like design, Korpikiewicz said. Very quickly, he realized this could be something special.
Korpikiewicz took the object home and wrapped it in wet clothes to protect it, he told McClatchy News. The next day, he handed it over to heritage officials.
'We (were) met with great surprise and excitement,' Korpikiewicz told TVP World.
The Warsaw Conservator of Monuments identified Korpikiewicz's find as a well-preserved medieval sword, according to a July 2 Facebook post. Photos show the rusty, orange-brown weapon. The blade has a rectangular tip, and the handle ends in a spherical bulb.
Officials did not provide measurements of the sword, but a photo from Korpikiewicz of the item next to a measuring stick shows it to be about 32 inches long.
The medieval sword was given to a specialty conservation workshop for further preservation and analysis, Science in Poland said in a July 4 news release. Its origin and exact age remains a mystery.
'People spend years looking for this sort of thing, but I came across it completely by accident,' Korpikiewicz told TVP World.
In Warsaw, the Vistula River has dropped to record low levels in recent days due to a heatwave and lack of rainfall, Reuters said in a July 4 article. Some meteorologists expect the water level to continue dropping.
As of Friday, July 4, the river's water level in Warsaw was 18 cm (about 7 inches), below its previous low record of 20 cm (about 7.9 inches), according to data from the country's Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.
Warsaw is the capital city of Poland.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland, Facebook post from the Warsaw Conservator of Monuments and comments from Andrzej Korpikiewicz.
