Archaeologists have made a rare find in Swabia: During excavations in Nördlingen, experts discovered a bronze sword more than 3000 years old, as the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments announced on Wednesday. This is so well preserved “that it almost still shines”. It is an octagonal sword with an octagonal hilt made entirely of bronze.
According to a preliminary classification, it came from the late 14th century BC and thus from the Middle Bronze Age, it was said. Sword finds from this epoch are said to be rare and either came from burial mounds that were deliberately opened in the 19th century or are individual, presumed sacrificial finds.
The sword now discovered came from a grave provided with rich bronze objects. A man, a woman and a youth were buried in it. It is still unclear what relationship the people may have had to one another. The sword and the burial still need to be examined, said Conservator General Mathias Pfeil, head of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. “But we can already say: The state of preservation is exceptional!”