In October 2019 a sword with no name was excavated. Earlier, a diver had discovered it by accident. And earlier still, the sword was thrown into the water and got stuck 7 metres below the surface of the river Vrbas. For hundreds and hundreds of years the sword remained untouched.

In the meantime swords became obsolete, mostly ceremonial, replaced by much more efficient armory.

So, in 2019, the sword was excavated by a team of divers, archaeologists and historians. A thin knife and a handsaw were used to extract the sword from the bedrock. Due to its analogy with the legend of King Arthur, the sword was baptised ‘Excalibur’.

After being transferred to the museum for conservation and further research, a scar was left on a bedrock 7 metres deep. The Excalibur of Banja Luka had been underwater for longer than it was on land. And so, the river had transformed and was flowing even faster than before.

In a conversation with Miodrag Manojlović we talked about the idea that the river misses the sword and/or the other way around.

And, that the sword misses its former owner.