According to some legends, after being fatally wounded in the Battle of Camlann, Arthur ordered Excalibur to be thrown back into the nearest body of water, which, according to legend, was Dozmary Pool. Sir Bedivere flings it into the water, where it is caught by an arm, ostensibly belonging to Morgan le Fay, a.k.a. The Lady of the Lake. It was she who originally gave Arthur the sword, and, according to myth, he returned it so that she could gift it to another worthy individual after his death.

So could that worthy individual be Matilda? Since she was the person who found the sword, might she become England’s next great hero? It seemed likely at first (if you believe in that kind of thing), but then the illusion was shattered when a man named Mark Wilkins came forward claiming to have dropped the sword — which is technically only a prop blade — into the lake in the 1980s.

Now 49, Wilkins says he put it in the water as an offering to the Celtic gods.

“Back in the ’80s, I was very into spiritualism and followed the Celtic religion,” Wilkins told the Plymouth Herald. “It’s well-known in Celtic belief that if you want to honor the gods, you can make a sacrifice.”

Wilkins — who currently practices a Japanese form of spear fighting called sōjutsu — got the sword because he used to partake in battle reenactments. He purchased it through the mail from Battle Orders UK and was often seen carrying it during holidays and historical events, like Heritage Day and the Prayer Book Rebellion.

"The funniest thing is that I have people who can vouch I had the sword back then,” Wilkins said. “I had a phase when I would have a few drinks and go around knighting the people of Bodmin when I lived there."

We can’t say for sure, but it’s very likely that sword is now on-display somewhere in Matilda’s family’s house — a fun wall decoration with an equally amusing storyline to amuse guests with. And if that’s the case, then maybe it’s best that the sword wasn’t real because then the Jones’ would have had to relinquish it to a museum. Because that’s what happened this summer when an 8-year-old girl in Sweden found, yet another, sword in a lake.