The Eight-Year-Old Girl Who Pulled An Ancient Sword From A Swedish Lake
Andrew VanecekSwedish-American Saga Vanecek initially thought the sword was “some kind of stick.”
In July 2018, eight-year-old Saga Vanecek stumbled upon a 1,500-year-old pre-Viking sword while swimming near her family’s summer home in a Swedish lake.
Saga was playing in Vidöstern Lake in Småland, “throwing sticks and stones” to see how far they would skip, when she felt something unusual with her hand. Initially thinking it was just another stick, she grabbed the mysterious object from the lake bottom.
“I picked it up and was going to drop it back in the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a little bit pointy at the end and all rusty,” Saga recalled. “I held it up in the air and I said, ‘Daddy, I found a sword!’ When he saw that it bent and was rusty, he came running up and took it.”
Andrew VanecekThe hilt of the 1,500-year-old sword.
Her father, Andy Vanecek, initially consulted neighbors and colleagues about the find. Recognizing its potential authenticity, they advised the family to contact experts immediately. The 34-inch sword, sheathed in a wooden and leather holster, was taken to the Jönköping County Museum for examination.
Mikael Nordström, an expert at the museum, confirmed that the weapon was approximately 1,500 years old and remarkably well-preserved. “We are very keen to see the conservation staff do their work and see more of the details of the sword,” he noted at the time.
Museum officials asked the Vanecek family to keep their July discovery secret until October to prevent treasure hunters from flocking to the area and potentially destroying other artifacts. Saga was finally allowed to share her amazing find with her classmates on Oct. 4, 2018, which indeed prompted others to search the lake.
The timing proved fortuitous, as the lake’s water levels had receded due to drought, making such discoveries more likely. Shortly after Saga’s find became public, searchers discovered a brooch dating to the fourth century C.E. in the same lake, suggesting the area might have been a place of ritual sacrifice rather than a burial ground.
The conservation process took nearly two years to complete.
In June 2020, Saga’s sword was finally placed on permanent display at the Jönköping County Museum, where visitors could admire the remarkable artifact that had captured worldwide attention.
Saga’s discovery drew many comparisons to Arthurian legend, with many noting the poetic justice of a girl literally named “Saga” pulling an ancient sword from a lake. The story led her to be dubbed the “Queen of Sweden” in reference to the tale of King Arthur receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.
