March 30, 2024
Magnet fishing essentially involves dredging waterways with a magnet on a rope and seeing what might end up attaching itself to the magnet. Englishman Trevor Penny has found old railroad tools by magnet fishing, as well as a World War II grenade that required controlled detonation.
Recently, Penny was magnet fishing in the River Cherwell, in central England, when he found a piece of metal that turned out to be a millennium-old Viking sword, one of only 70 or so found in Britain. Guessing it might be important, he contacted authorities, who dated the sword between 850 and 975 C.E. The object, covered in rust, is expected to be restored and displayed in a local museum.
Not a bad haul.