A hobby archaeologist found a dagger that is more than 2000 years old with a metal detector. With the discovery in 2019, the budding dentist Lucas Schmid triggered a new research initiative. Scientists gained exciting new insights into the area in Graubünden in Switzerland. The dagger is made of brass and silver and probably dates from between 15 and 40 BC – after an X-ray and subsequent restoration, a fine ornament is visible on its handle. According to researchers, the Roman dagger is in impressively good condition. Schmid hands it over to the Graubünden Archaeological Service. Research teams begin to study the area in the mountains around Tiefencastle. You will discover many more Roman and Rhaetian artifacts. According to the SRF, these include shoe nails, coins, sling axes and parts of a shield. The Raetians were a people who probably lived in the central Alps from around 400 BC. In the first century BC they were incorporated into the Roman Empire by the Romans. The finds seem to give evidence of this time: “It looks like the locals have holed up and were shot at by the Romans with slingshot lead and catapults,” says Peter Schwarz, Professor of Provincial Roman Archeology at the University of Basel and member of the research team the SRF. The objects found will now be evaluated by the ADG in the coming years. The results are to be published and the finds exhibited in 2025.
Sources: SRF Yahoo News
On the YouTube channel of the canton of Grisons you can get a documentation about the reconditioning and restoration of the dagger