Student Finds Hidden Ancient Sword In a Museum In Venice

Vittoria Dall’Armellina is a PhD student from the Ca’Foscari University in Venice, who discovered what could possibly be the oldest sword in the world when she was visiting the museum of San Lazzaro Degli Armeni a few weeks ago. 

In a room where a bunch of different objects from the Medieval Period were being showcased, she noticed something hidden in a sideboard – a metal sword. As a specialist in swords from the ancient Near East (roughly corresponding geographically to the location of the Middle East today), Vittoria quickly realised that the sword was much older than the other objects in the room. She recognized similarities between that piece of steel and others she had studied during her doctorate.  

“Typologically, it was very similar to some 5,000-year-old weapons found in the Royal Palace of Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia), considered the oldest swords in the world,” she explains.

Scientific analysis has confirmed that the weapon found in Venice is similar to the oldest in the world, dating from around 3000 BC, not only in its form but also in the composition of the metal alloy used.