Iława. He found the lower sword vaginal fitting in the forest. More than a thousand years ago

He probably belonged to the warrior of the Prussian tribe and in addition to practical application, he also performed aesthetic and symbolic functions. Local history lover Michał Młotek discovered an early medieval boot in the forest near Iława, i.e. the lower fitting of the sword vagina, more than a thousand years ago. The finder wants the monument to enrich the collections of the museum in Ostróda.

“This is a unique and extremely rare find, in addition complete, i.e. preserved entirely and beautifully decorated,” wrote in social media, associated with the Iława search group, Michał Młotek.

A lover of local history discovered an early medieval boot in the forest near Iława, i.e. the lower fitting of the sword vagina, more than a thousand years ago. The discovery was made with a metal detector. The find reported to the Elbląg delegation of the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments.

The boot as a determinant of social status and power

The hammer will find that the artifact was probably an element of weapons belonging to the warrior of the Prussian tribe in the past. He reminded that the shoes – in addition to practical application, i.e. strengthening and protecting the vagina of the sword against damage – also performed aesthetic and symbolic functions. They constituted a indicator of social status, power, belonging to the team or function performed in the tribe.

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Michał Młotek is a lover and popularizer of the local history, who has been running the Iława Museum for 20 years. This is his second such discovery. The previous boot, dated to the second half of the 10th century, which he found a dozen or so years ago, went to the Museum of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.

He wants him to go to the museum

The finder announced that he would strive to ensure that the monument discovered by him would enrich the collections of the museum in Ostróda.

– It would be the fifth in our collection of the early Middle Ages – said Archaeologist from the Ostróda Museum Łukasz Szczepański in an interview with the Polish press agency.

He added that these are exhibits that indicate the use of swords in the region, which were an elite weapon.

A belt fitting was also found in March

The boot from Iława is another valuable monument recently discovered by lovers of local history in the province. Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. In mid -March near Leśniewo, a member of the Kętrzyn Land Lovers Society Zofia Lichawte found a small discoveral object made of bronze.

According to monument protection services, in the opinion of archaeologists, it is most likely a decorative Balteus belt fitting. Such belts, hung over the shoulder, to which the sword was attached, were typical equipment of Roman legionaries. They were borrowed and adapted for their own use by the tribes from the Elbe, from where they spread to the areas of northern Europe and the Baltic Sea pool.