Amazing 3,000-year-old sword discovered in Germany: still glistens

Scientists amazed at the preservation of an ancient artifact

A sword dating back to the mid-Bronze Age but in an “extraordinary” state of preservation was found in a grave in Bavaria.

A more than 3,000-year-old bronze sword has been unearthed in southern Germany that is so well-preserved that it “almost still gleams”, according to officials.

The Bavarian State Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments (BLfD) said the sword, believed to date from the late 14th century BC to the mid-Bronze Age, was found during excavations last week in Nördlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

The sword has an octagonal handle and was recovered from a grave in which three people – a man, a woman and a boy – were buried in quick succession with bronze objects, the Bavarian Historic Preservation Authority said this week. It has not yet been clear if the three are related to each other and, if so, how, according to the Associated Press.

Researchers believe that the sword was a real weapon. “The center of gravity at the front of the blade indicates that it was balanced primarily for slashing,” the scientists said in a statement.

Professor Matthias Pfeil, head of the BLfD, says: “The sword and burial still need to be studied so that our archaeologists can more accurately classify this find. But we can already say that the state of preservation is extraordinary. A find like this is very rare.”

Findings of swords from that period are considered unusual, but nonetheless, they were found in mounds that were opened in the 19th century, or as individual finds, the Bavarian monuments office said.