Reminds me about Damascus steel:
1. Original formula lost.
2. Researched in universities.
3. You can buy something that looks like the books told was the original thing.
Except I don't know if there is a market for Linkthoraxes out there
Thing is, even if the historical accounts were wrong about important details or even totally made up, we can probably still come up with something that fits the description.
There's the rub with experimental archaeology: you are running graduate descent against a cost function written by storytellers. Getting a match isn't enough to prove much.
> The reputation and history of Damascus steel has given rise to many legends, such as the ability to cut through a rifle barrel or to cut a hair falling across the blade. A research team in Germany published a report in 2006 revealing nanowires and carbon nanotubes in a blade forged from Damascus steel.
While the original formula for damascus is lost, we still have access to resulting products, ie there are original damascus swords that survive into present.
Except I don't know if there is a market for Linkthoraxes out there