Rare two-handed medieval sword, axe found in Poland –

A rare long sword and two medieval axes were found in the Biskupiec region of the Vornian Masurian vivodeship in northern Poland. The history of swords and shafts dates back to the 14th to 15th centuries.

The weapons were discovered by members of the Bishop Detectors Association (GRYF), a nonprofit Biskupiec history enthusiast and metal detectives who are searching for artifacts from World War II. The organization has obtained legal permission to use metal detectors with approval from the VoivoDeship Monument Protection office. When they found the sword and the shaft, GRYF members reminded archaeologists at the Monument Conservation Office and the Ostroda Museum to find the location.

The blade is in good condition. One of the shafts even has a piece of wood shaft attached. The sword is more than three feet long, and the tip remains at some point, so all the parts of the sword can be completed: the hilt, saddle, guard and blade. The design and proportion of the sword identified it as half a long sword, and octagonal saddles and crosses were common in the late Middle Ages. This type is called the manual half because the grip is long enough to hold with both hands, but the sword is balanced enough to be waving with one hand.

The discovery was made outside the village of Wielka Tymawa near the OSA River. Archaeologists believe that good preservation indicates that the weapon has been submerged for a long time. OSA is relatively included today, but its courses are stormy in the late Middle Ages. The sword and axe may have been lost there, perhaps on the bridge across the river.

The Voivo Deship Monument Protection office has assigned the findings to the museum in Ostróda, where they will be researched and conservative before being publicly displayed later this year in its permanent collection.

“These artifacts will greatly complement our exhibition. Especially since it is the first sword in our series. We are a museum facility involving the preservation of medieval history and are located in the former Teutonic castle,” [Ostróda museum archaeologist Łukasz Szczepański] recall.