When the Lady of the Lake handed King Arthur the sword Excalibur, it’s like, come on—this myth really wants me to believe a piece of metal would stay sharp after sitting underwater for centuries? Get real.
Well, according to a statement from the exceptionally wordy branch of Italy’s ministry of culture known as (get ready for it) Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Province of Viterbo and Southern Etruria, the story just got a little more realistic: a team of archaeologists recently pulled a 3,300-year-old Bronze Age sword out of an Italian lake, and somehow, the thing is still kind of sharp.
The Sword Was Found Alongside a Mysterious Collection of Artifacts
Researchers found it in Lake Mezzano, a flooded volcanic crater about 60 miles northwest of Rome. Italy’s Superintendence of yadda yadda yadda sent divers who found the blade alongside a huge stash of ancient gear, including a bronze razor, arrowheads, intact ceramic vases, axes, daggers, and pins. This is the third sword fished out of Lake Mezzano since the 1970s. Ancient Italian metalworkers didn’t mess around with their work.
Why this apparently high-end, expertly crafted blade ended up in a lake with a bunch of other riffraff isn’t fully known. That said, the researchers have a couple of theories.
The first is that back in the 13th century BC, way before the Romans or Etruscans were stomping all over the land, a local community that lived in stilt houses known as pile dwellings lived over the water. Since the sword and bronze razor were sitting right next to each other, the researchers think they likely belong to sue some high-status ancient hotshot guy who used metal weapons to show off his clout, because vain aura-farming is not a new phenomenon, just the words used to describe it. The other theory is that it was part of some Bronze Age ritual, where people chucked valuables into the water to appease underwater deities.
Vanity or superstition. Pick your favorite timeless reason for doing weird stuff.
The ridiculously well-preserved, still-sharp blade is for sure the headliner among the items found, but the team hopes to find something that tops it, as they plan to keep digging to see what else they can find submerged among the stilt houses.
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