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Remarkable Medieval Sword Pulled from Dutch River
Archaeology Magazine ^ | June 17, 2025 | editors / unattributed

Posted on 06/30/2025 11:47:17 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Workers recovered a remarkable medieval sword during dredging of the Korte Linschoten River near Montfoort. According to a La Brújula Verde report, the three-foot-long double-edged blade dates to between a.d. 1050 and 1150. This was a time when the bishop of Utrecht held power in the region, but the counts of Holland and Flanders were growing increasingly more influential. Besides its exceptionally well-preserved condition, the weapon is noteworthy because of a pair of intricate designs etched into its surface. One side features a "sun wheel," a circular design divided by a cross that was a sacred symbol in medieval Europe and commonly used in the consecration of churches. The other side is decorated with a geometric pattern consisting of five interlaced squares with a circle. Scholars refer to this emblem as the "endless knot," a design that was popular in Viking and Germanic cultures and signified unbreakable strength, friendship, and loyalty. Experts who examined the blade did not notice any indications that the sword had been covered by a scabbard at any time. They suggest that the weapon was deliberately thrown into the river as an offering or as a part of some ritual. For more on the archaeology of medieval Holland, go to "Letter from Leiden: Of Cesspits and Sewers."

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; middleages; netherlands

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"Endless knot" symbol on the sword's blade
Landgoed Linschoten
Landgoed Linschoten

1 posted on 06/30/2025 11:47:17 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

2 posted on 06/30/2025 11:47:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Politics do not make strange bedfellows, and the enemy of your enemy may still be your enemy.)
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To: SunkenCiv

/moistened bint?


3 posted on 06/30/2025 11:52:03 PM PDT by Salamander (Please visit my profile page to help me go home again. https://www.givesendgo.com/GCRRD)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ah, yes. The “forever knot” from the Kingdom of Purina. Good folk. Loved dogs.

Strange the way they selected kings, though. A bloke would come along and some watery tart would toss a sword at her choice. Strange women, lying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government, in my opinion.

Anyway, wonder if the worker who pulled this out is now king.


4 posted on 06/30/2025 11:57:52 PM PDT by TheThirdRuffian (Orange is the new brown)
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To: SunkenCiv
Really cool...


5 posted on 07/01/2025 12:07:46 AM PDT by rxsid (HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN? - Leo Donofrio (2009))
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To: TheThirdRuffian

did blood of the past preserve it?


6 posted on 07/01/2025 12:19:06 AM PDT by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh
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To: SunkenCiv

“listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government.”


7 posted on 07/01/2025 12:25:48 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (First, I was a clinger, then deplorable, now I'm garbage. Feel the love? )
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To: TheThirdRuffian; Salamander

:^)

“A newt?”

“I got better.”


8 posted on 07/01/2025 12:51:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Politics do not make strange bedfellows, and the enemy of your enemy may still be your enemy.)
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To: NonValueAdded

:^)


9 posted on 07/01/2025 12:52:12 AM PDT by SunkenCiv ('Civ, why are you crying?)
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To: SunkenCiv

The wide hilt and tapered tip suggest it was made closer to the 12th century date, far too late for a pagan offering, although it’s quite possible certain pagan rituals like throwing swords into rivers persisted dressed up as a saint’s celebration, etc., for a long time.


10 posted on 07/01/2025 1:22:29 AM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens" )
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To: pierrem15

Thx.


11 posted on 07/01/2025 1:27:39 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: TheThirdRuffian; SunkenCiv

Thanks for posting, SunkenCiv, and thanks for the history lesson TheThirdRuffian.


12 posted on 07/01/2025 2:05:52 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Tell It Right

My pleasure.


13 posted on 07/01/2025 3:13:58 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (NeverTrumpin' -- it's not just for DNC shills anymore -- oh, wait, yeah it is.)
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To: NonValueAdded

in before the python refer,er nevermind


14 posted on 07/01/2025 3:18:44 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: SunkenCiv

Speaking of long running rituals: look at the fancy harnesses on the horses they use at Oktoberfest in Munich. The designs closely match those from the bronze age, like the solar discs.


15 posted on 07/01/2025 5:07:50 AM PDT by pierrem15 ("Massacrez-les, car le seigneur connait les siens" )
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To: TheThirdRuffian; SunkenCiv
The Movie Excaliber, when Perceval throws the sword across the water and the Lady of the Lake catches it and draws it under the water- that scene gives me chills every time I see it.
16 posted on 07/01/2025 5:43:42 AM PDT by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! 🔭)
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To: Tell It Right

Learned everything I know from Philomena Cunk.

(Best faux “history” documentaries on Earth. Netflix. “Cunk on [Topic]”


17 posted on 07/01/2025 5:55:42 AM PDT by TheThirdRuffian (Orange is the new brown)
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To: TheThirdRuffian

IYKYK...

;)


18 posted on 07/01/2025 5:59:37 AM PDT by castlebrew (Gun Control means hitting here you're aiming!))
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To: rxsid; SunkenCiv

A little Ospho and it’ll be good as new!..............


19 posted on 07/01/2025 6:06:50 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: SunkenCiv

So... losing your weapons in a boat accident has precedent...


20 posted on 07/01/2025 6:34:10 AM PDT by Hoosier-Daddy ("Washington, DC. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious")
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