A medieval sword found buried under a birch tree in Siberia may have belonged to Ivan the Terrible, archaeologists have claimed.
The rare 12th century blade, discovered in 1975 and nicknamed Siberia’s Excalibur, was found three kilometres from where the lieutenant of a Cossack leader favoured by the tsar is thought to have died.
Until now the sword had been considered a spoil of war, but a new theory suggests it could have may have been a gift from the leader to Ermak Timofeyevich, and passed along to Ivan Koltso.
The sword discovered beneath a birch tree in Siberia may have belonged to the ruthless Russian tsar, Ivan the Terrible, whose armies conquered the area in the 1500s
Koltso, who died in battle in 1583, may have even used the blade in the fight for Siberia.
In a new hypothesis, Academician Vyacheslav Molodin suggests the blade ‘could have been taken from Ivan the Terrible’s armoury and brought here by the legendary warrior Ivan Koltso,’ reports The Siberian Times.
‘Imagine the last battle of the Cossack detachment headed by Ivan Koltso,’ he said.
The sword, discovered in 1975, is a 12th century blade thought to have been made in Germany and Sweden. It is possible it was gifted to the leader of the Cossack army by the tsar in the 14th century
When unearthed by the archaeologist in the 1970s, the sword was ‘incredibly well preserved’, he said
Letters on the blade mean ‘In the name of the Almighty. The Mother of God. In the name of Eternal’
Mr Molodin said he had seen swords of the same kind in museums and books but never in real life
The archaeologist was worried the metal would fall apart after going untouched for hundreds of years
‘The attack was unexpected. Picture someone immediately being killed by a treacherous stab in the back, and somebody else grabbing a sword to fight the advancing Tatars.
An illustration of Ermak Timofeyevich, the famed Cossack leader conquering Siberia with Ivan’s army
Mr Molodin said he is not ready to put his hypothesis forward in a publication yet but is developing the theory
‘Despite his Cossacks having sabres and firearms, they were still using swords. So it was quite possible they were using them during that trip’.