Archaeologists have discovered the tomb of an ancient warrior buried more than 1,300 years ago by a long-forgotten people.
King St. Museum Stephen, located in Székesfehérvár in Hungary, claims that the tomb belongs to a “high-ranking warrior of the Avar period”. The Avars were a nomadic people from Central Asia, who settled in the regions of present-day Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Austria in the early Middle Ages. They once dominated central and southern Europe, but their power waned after Charlemagne's campaigns. The burial, about two meters deep, probably dates from 670 to 690 AD. e., during the Middle Avar period.
But the tomb also contained fascinating and valuable artifacts that remained intact. Among them were a long knife, silver belt ornaments, gilded rings for weaving, an earring and a sword. Frigyes Szücsy, the lead archaeologist at the excavation, told Fox News that there are only 80 such swords found in the world from the Middle Avar period. This is one of the earliest types of swords in history, since this new type of weapon appeared simultaneously in the Carpathian basin and Eastern Europe in the second half of the 7th century.
It turned out that it was very difficult to pull out the sword without damaging it. Xiuchi said the team used a specially made box-shaped tool to move it. The sword currently weighs only about 400 grams and officials believe it was much heavier before corrosion. In Hungary, a country rich in history, a skull found this year may belong to the legendary Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus.
