7-Year-Old Girl Finds Sword in Lake From Excalibur Legend

A U.K. girl found a sword in the same lake that is, according to the legend, the resting place of the magical sword Excalibur.

Matilda Jones, 7, of Norton, Doncaster, found the 4-foot sword while wading in Dozmary Pool in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, with her father Paul, 51, and sister Lois, 4.

Dozmary Pool is said to be the legendary home of the Lady of the Lake, who gave Excalibur to young Arthur after his sword was damaged.

It is also the lake where Sir Bedivere eventually threw the sword, returning it to the Lady of the Lake.

Paul Jones was telling his daughters about the legend as they journeyed to the lake on a hot summer day.

When they arrived at the lake, Matilda went for a paddle. While waist-deep in the water, she told her father she saw a sword.

“I told her not to be silly and it was probably a bit of fencing, but when I looked down I realized it was a sword,” he said, The Sheffield Star reported. “It was just there laying flat on the bottom of the lake.”

The father guessed the sword was probably an old movie prop. The family brought the sword home.

There’s actually some ambiguity in the legends about Excalibur. Some writers say Arthur pulled it out of a stone or an anvil—thus proving himself to be the legitimate king. However, legends also say that sword was broken in battle. Merlin then leads Arthur to the lake where the lady presents Arthur with a new sword. The legend thus could be interpreted so that both swords are Excalibur or that only the second sword is the real Excalibur.

“Whether presented as the Sword in the Stone or given by the Lady of the Lake, it is clear Excalibur comes from another realm,” writes Joshua Mark, director of the non-profit Ancient History Encyclopedia.