Posting photos of the weapon on its website, Berlin auction house Carsten Zeige said that the sword “probably belonged to Sigismund III Vasa and came from a pre-war Polish collection.”
Described by archaeologists as a ‘sensation’ the metre-long weapon was found in Lower Silesia by three local history enthusiasts searching the area and stumbling upon the sword’s head lying about 30 centimetres underground.
Described as “valuable relic” by the Conservator of Monuments for the Mazovian Voievodeship, the discovery of the melee weapon (a handheld weapon used in close combat) was made along with its scabbard in the centre of Warsaw.
After making his find near the north-eastern town of Olsztyn, treasure hunter Aleksander Miedwiedew said that the sword, scabbard, belt and two knives were in ‘an extremely good state’, adding that in their day the artefacts would have been valuable items, equivalent to the price of a family car today.
The sword has been identified as a type that was especially popular in the Austrian-controlled part of Poland in the early 1860s, around the time of the January Uprising of 1863-1864.
The incredible discovery was made by archaeologists scouring Lake Lednia where along with the sword they found 21 artefacts including two axes, 13th and 14th century arrowheads, crossbow bolts and a sickle.
Despite being already looted by treasure hunters the cemetery find sheds new light on the Yotvingian people.
Smugglers hoped the disguise would take the ancient and rare sword from Ukraine to the Czech Republic.
The armoured warriors who use middleage styles and tactics competed in sword and shield, long-sword, polearm and melee events, traditionally called buhurts.
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