Imagine digging around your garden here in the Tri-Cities and discovering a long-lost artifact buried in the dirt. Well, that recently happened in Europe.
What did the landowner discover?
A release from the University of Turku in Finland tells us that a landowner saw something poking up out of the ground, and after pulling the metal object out of the dirt, they realized that it was a sword. The person then called in a Professor of Archeology from the University of Turku to look at the item.
Crusader-era sword and a part of the scabbard found in a geothermal pipe trench. Photo: Riikka Saarinen / Turku Museum Center.
The professor determined that the sword was from the Crusader era, circa 1050–1150. After finding the mid-evil era weapon, students from the University of Turku conducted an archeological dig on the site.
The dig found other items from the Crusades.
One of the rosette-patterned bronze ornaments from the Hela belt. Photo: Juha Ruohonen / University of Turku, archaeology.
After digging around the area, the archeologists found sword parts, bones, coffin fragments, and iron pieces. Historians say the most remarkable find at the site was a leather belt with bronze bells.
Some grave details
The dig at the site also led archeologists to discover a larger Crusade-era cemetery complete with eight graves that would back up next to a chapel built in the 15th century. Experts think that the site had cremation graves, and that type of burial was uncommon in Finland.
Juha Ruohonen
Experts will Cabron date and research the findings at the historic site over the next year.
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The story of the long-lost grave may bring up thoughts about a discovery made locally here in the Tri-Cities area. In 1996, the “Kennewick Man” was discovered buried in the banks of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington. That find was also accidental as it was discovered by two people wading in the Columbia River.