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The remarkably preserved weapon, believed to date to between 900 and 700 B.C., was discovered by a hobbyist searching a forest in northern Poland
NEED TO KNOW
- A hobbyist using a metal detector discovered a 2,700-year-old bronze sword in northern Poland
- Photos show the weapon standing upright in the ground before archaeologists excavated it
- Experts say the sword will now be studied after being transferred to a museum
A hobbyist searching a forest in northern Poland stumbled across an unusual sight: a bronze sword that had been standing upright in the ground for nearly 2,700 years.
The remarkably well-preserved weapon was discovered by metal detectorist Marcin Wiśniewski in the Gdańsk Forest District, according to the Pomeranian Provincial Heritage Conservator. Officials say the sword dates to the Late Bronze Age, between 900 and 700 B.C.
Photos released by the conservator show the ancient weapon protruding vertically from the sandy soil before archaeologists carefully removed it.
Rather than excavating the find himself, Wiśniewski reported it to heritage officials, who recovered the artifact using professional archaeological methods.
“After the discovery was reported, staff from our Department of Archaeological Monuments recovered the artifact using proper archaeological methods, working together with the finder,” the Pomeranian Provincial Heritage Conservator said in a Facebook post announcing the discovery.
Officials noted that while Bronze Age swords are rare finds, the area has yielded similar discoveries before.
According to the conservator, two bronze swords with antenna-shaped hilts were uncovered in a nearby peat bog during the 1920s. Those artifacts were transferred to what was then the Provincial Museum in Gdańsk but were later lost during World War II.
The newly discovered sword is expected to undergo further study before it is placed in a museum.
“The Provincial Heritage Conservator will decide which museum the sword will be transferred to,” Marcin Tymiński, press spokesperson for the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Gdańsk, shared via Fox News. “That decision has not yet been made.”
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Tymiński added that specialists will be able to determine more about the weapon once it has been examined.
The discovery is the latest in a string of ancient weapon finds in Poland. In recent months, archaeologists recovered a cache of early medieval weapons from a lake in west-central Poland, while a fisherman reeled in a 700-year-old sword from the Vistula River.
Read the original article on People
