Video: The oldest sword in the world was discovered in an Italian monastery: What is known about the origin of the priceless artifact
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Archaeologists and historians know how to identify antiquities that are discovered during excavations around the world. But even the most experienced of them are just people, and people tend to make mistakes. Sometimes, in order to detect such a mistake, you just need a fresh look from a young, insightful expert, albeit not so experienced. And this is what happened recently in Venice. A graduate student at the Università Ca 'Foscari Venezia accidentally noticed a priceless ancient artifact in the museum, mistakenly attributed by experts to the Middle Ages. What is this subject and what is its true history?
Vittoria Dall'Armellina is an expert on Bronze Age artifacts. She traveled through a former monastery that now serves as a museum on Saint Lazarus Island in the Venetian Lagoon. Vittoria examined the "medieval" sword on display in a glass case.
Looking closely at him, she noticed something strange and unusual for herself. In the end, Dall'Armellina came to the conclusion that the weapon was mistakenly attributed to such a late period. After conducting a thorough analysis, the experts were stunned: the sword turned out to be about five thousand years old! This is arguably the oldest such weapon ever discovered in the world.
The sword was found in the ancient Greek settlement of Trebizond, in an area that is now in present-day eastern Turkey. Historians attributed it to the Middle Ages and in this collection the weapons were kept until the day Vittoria noticed them.
For Dall'Armellina, a relative newcomer to the field of archeology, as she is still in graduate school, this discovery, no doubt, means strengthening her professional reputation. She herself says that she was almost one hundred percent sure of the ancient age of the sword.
Although the discovery itself was made by her back in 2017, it took a long time for various examinations to accurately confirm the age of the sword. During this time, Vittoria and her colleagues completely immersed themselves in the study of the archives of the monastery and other research materials in order to learn everything about the history of the ancient artifact.
The weapon was found about 150 years ago and donated to a monk. After his death in 1901, all his belongings went to the monastery. This sword could be both an offensive weapon used in combat and a ceremonial item. Its blade is very similar to the swords that scientists discovered in the Royal Palace of Arslantepe in eastern Turkey.
Such weapons were investigated usually refer to 3-4 millennium BC. The only thing that distinguishes this blade from those is the absence of decorations and any inscriptions. The composition of the sword is a combination of arsenic and copper. Such a metallic composition suggests that the dagger belongs to the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third millennium BC.
The graduate student and her colleagues believe that this is one of the first swords of its kind, which increases its archaeological and historical significance. However, the blade itself is so ancient that it is very difficult for experts to determine how, after all, this weapon was used at one time.
Scientists can only speculate who the sword actually belonged to. An archaeologist from the university believes there is reason to believe that the owner of the sword is a local commander. They were buried with many weapons and other precious items. This was done to confirm the special status of the warrior. Additional research is underway to determine the accuracy of these hypotheses.
Ironically, this is the second time in recent years that a student has discovered something of such great importance in archaeological circles. Just a few weeks ago in Germany, trainee Nico Calman of the Field Monuments Conservation and Maintenance Department came across a blade with a scabbard.
Kalman discovered the artifact while excavating a local archaeological site. The blade dates back to the period when Roman soldiers unsuccessfully tried to invade the territory of the German tribes and conquer them. The dagger is about 2000 years old and has been completely restored. Moreover, the restoration was so successful that the dagger looks almost new. It is safe to say that this is the next generation of archaeologists, such as Kalman and Dall'Armellina, who will bring many stunning discoveries and priceless historical artifacts to the world's treasury of antiquities. After all, no matter how experienced and competent one generation is, there comes a time when they must give way to new people, young voices and fresh views.
Read about another significant archaeological discovery in our article is the recent archaeological find really the legendary sword of King Arthur.
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