An 8-year-old girl made international headlines for her astonishing discovery at the bottom of a Swedish lake - and now her fans are demanding that she be rewarded for her contribution to history.

Saga Vanecek had been playing in a lake by her family's home in Tanno, Sweden over the summer when she felt something strange along the floor of the lake.

Her father had been hurrying her to finish playing in the water so he could watch a much-anticipated World Cup game - and it's a good thing that she delighted in ignoring him, because she then managed to unearth the curious object from the lake bed and brandish it in the air, saying "Daddy, I've found a sword!"

Saga had, in fact, discovered a sword from the Iron Age that is estimated to be 1,500 years old.

When her father brought the sword to an archaeologist at a nearby museum, the researcher got "goosebumps" over the rusted relic.

The archaeologist then told Saga to keep it a secret so that the museum researchers could have time to search for more buried treasures. Sure enough, the team managed to find a brooch in the same vicinity as the sword.

"People on the Internet are saying I am the queen of Sweden, because in the legend of King Arthur, he was given a sword by a lady in a lake, and that meant he would become king," Saga told the Guardian. "I am not a lady - I'm only 8 - but it's true I found a sword in the lake. I wouldn't mind being queen for a day, but when I grow up I want to be a vet. Or an actor in Paris."

The sassy 8-year-old has acquired quite a fan club for herself since she published her story in the news outlet. Her classroom celebrated her story by having cake and balloons, much to the youngster's delight. Additionally, a Scottish clothing company created a T-shirt design inspired by Saga's sword.

Though she was sad to give up her treasure to the museum, she says that she is happy that other people will be able to look at it too. However, she and her father created a crowdfunding page to raise money for a replica of her sword - and it has already reached its goal.

Any additional donations made to the page will help Saga to write a children's book about her discovery so that other kids might be inspired to take an interest in history and exploration.

"Now, whenever I go swimming in the lake, I will be looking to see what I can find," says Saga. "It feels like that lake might be a little bit magic. On that day I felt a little bit magic, too."

Be Sure And Share This Cool Story With Your Friends On Social Media - Photo by Andrew Vanecek