PENSACOLA, Fla. − It wasn’t exactly King Arthur’s sword in a stone; more like a sword in the sand that a man said he pulled from the surf on Pensacola Beach in Florida, but the reaction has been almost as enthusiastic.
A post about the discovery on Facebook has gone viral with 65,000 reactions, plus thousands of shares and comments, not 24 hours after it was posted on Wednesday.
The post included the comments of Patty Sacco, who said her husband found the sword while looking for seashells about 30 yards out in the Gulf.
“The waters were pretty clear, and he saw part of the handle sticking out from the sand,” Sacco said. “Pulled on it a couple times, and low and behold a sword.”
Sacco continued, “We want to get it looked at and appraised before trying to clean it up, so we don’t break it if it’s an actual historical artifact.”
Archaeologists at Florida Public Archaeology Network said they got an email from Patty Sacco about the local couple’s discovery. They also posted about the discovery on their social media.
Nicole Grinnan, the organization’s interim executive director, said Sacco had reached out to the archeology network inquiring about the sword, which Grinnan believes is a heavy cavalry sword circa the 1840s.
“She reached out and she asked us what we thought about it but also what was the legality of the situation,” said Grinnan said. “This would have been used by members of the American military cavalry, typically. They’re riding on horseback, so it’s usually more like a ceremonial piece.”
Since Sacco didn’t bring the sword for them to examine in-person, they could only evaluate the sword based on the picture she posted on social media. But they did their best to answer her questions, even though they had some of their own.
“We haven’t seen it in person so we can’t verify authenticity, but the design seems to be in line with that particular style of sword,” Grinnan said. “But it doesn’t look like it has been very heavily encrusted or oxidized, which we would normally expect from a steel blade that has been in salt water for over 150 years. If you Google this sword, you’ll find that there are a lot of places that create replicas online, as well, so it’s really hard to say one way or the other without actually seeing it in person, because there are markers or stamps on the sword that we would look for to determine if it was authentic or not.”
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According to the historical timeline, Grinnan said it’s possible that a Civil War era sword such as this could have been carried to the beach by a Union soldier. Skirmishes unfolded during the Civil War between encampments of Union soldiers and the Confederacy at Fort Pickens, on the west end of Santa Rosa Island.
But not so much on the other end of the island, where archaeologists say they aren’t aware of any Civil War fighting happening. If they knew where, exactly, the sword surfaced on Pensacola Beach that could provide more clues.
Context like location and where artifacts are found in relation to other features reveals as much or more than the relics themselves to archaeologists, which is why they recommend people leave artifacts in place when they find them.
“Take a point or GPS coordinates, so that way we can tell the land manager,” Grinnan said. “But if the sword itself was part of a larger archaeological site, say a shipwreck or something related to the battle that took place on Santa Rosa Island or skirmish during the Civil War, then there may be more down there. Really the value for archaeologists is where they exist as a site.”
Like so many others who have shared and commented on the sword, Grinnan is happy about the discovery, especially since it has sparked a big interest and excitement in local history. She hopes they get a chance to learn more about the sword in the sand.
Online, Sacco indicated she might give an update.
“Wow! No idea there would be this much response!” Sacco said in the post. “We want to get it looked at to assess what it actually is, first…I will update when we find out!”