The entire hilt was gold. Above it was an open circle, also of gold, the supposed "wheel" of St. Catherine, with diamonds along the circumference representing the spikes. The blade proceeded through this wheel and embedded itself deep into the hilt.
The legend of St. Catherine had her dying in 310 CE. Could the sword be 1,700 years old? Gold and steel were both available then. Bob thought about testing the quality of the steel for clues. But why even consider that it would be that old? He couldn't imagine the rarity of such a find, even if it weren't St. Catherine's sword, and in such an obvious place. But to say it was St. Catherine's...
St. Catherine never existed. She was a myth created in the 9th century. And no one ever claimed she had a sword, anyway. What would an Alexandrian princess need a sword for? Artists showed her holding a sword because that was how she was killed, a beheading. Not that she actually existed. Not that she was actually killed. And what was the sword doing in Rome? She was in Alexandria.
He couldn't tell how old the sword was. It could have been made last week, or a hundred years ago, or five hundred years ago, at the height of St. Catherine's popularity. Then again, there was a certain elegance to the design that was more Roman than medieval. It could even be seventeen hundred years old and have nothing to do with St. Catherine.
The sword had lost some of its shine but was otherwise perfectly preserved. It was even sharp. Very sharp. About a meter long. An excellent weapon.
This was as much analysis as Bob could do before his helicopter touched down. At that point, he made arrangements to send the sword to New York aboard his private jet. He then set off to see some friends of his in Rome. Antiquities dealers, you might call them, with a specialty in documents.
Objects: needs