Asher Klein

8-Year-Old Girl Pulls Pre-Viking Sword From Swedish Lake

"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," she told a local news outlet

Her name conjures up Old Nordic tales about heroic accomplishments and that's exactly what Saga this summer did when she stumbled on a pre-Viking-era sword in a southern Sweden lake.

Saga Vanecek, 8, was helping her father with his boat in the Vidostern lake when she stepped on an 85-centimeter (34-inch) sword in a holster made of wood and leather. The sword is believed to be about 1,500 years old.

Saga told Swedish news outlet The Local that she thought it was a stick at first.

"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," she said.

Mikael Nordstrom of the local Jonkoping County museum said Friday that the little girl's find prompted others to seek out long-lost treasures in a lake that had been diminished by drought.

A broach from between 300 to 400 A.D. was eventually found.

Nordstrom said archaeologists are trying to understand why the items were there. For sacrificial purposes is one suggestion.

The family moved to Sweden from Minnesota last year, Saga's father told The Local.

"The cool thing is that I'm a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, and this looks just like a Viking sword!" Andy Vanecek said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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