Dr Vittoria Dall’Armellina at Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice saw the sword in a small cabinet surrounded by medieval items at Venice’s Mekhitarist Monastery.
Mekhitarist Monastery, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Catholic Mekhitarist Congregation, includes museums, a church, residential quarters, a library, museums, picture gallery, printing plant and research facilities.
The sword caught the eye of Dr Dall’Armellina, whose studies included the origin and evolution of swords in the Ancient Near East.
The expert realised the weapon she had spotted did not resemble a medieval artefact, but a much older sword, similar to those she had already encountered in her research.
source: express.co.uk