Dazzling 3,000-Year-Old Bronze Age Sword Unearthed By Archaeologists In Germany

Though the sword did not look like being used in anger, it is believed to have been a real weapon and not just ornamental.

A 3,000-year-old bronze age sword which is extraordinarily well preserved has been unearthed by archaeologists in Germany. The bronze sword with an octagonal hilt is thought to be from the late 14th Century BC and was found in a grave in the southern town of Nördlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany, BBC reported. The grave contains the bones of a man, woman and boy, and other bronze items.

It has a bronze octagonal hilt and comes from a grave in which three people — a man, a woman and a boy — were buried in quick succession with bronze objects, said Bavaria's State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD).

The German archaeologists are still examining the grave and trying to find out whether the three were related. The rarity of the find raises questions about the sword's origin.

"The sword and the burial still need to be examined so that our archeologists can categorize this find more precisely," said the head of the office, Mathias Pfeil, according to the Associated Press. 

"But we can already say that the state of preservation is extraordinary. A find like this is very rare." Pfeil added.

According to BLfD, manufacturing the sword was complicated, as the hilt was cast on to the blade. Though the sword did not look like being used in anger, it is believed to have been a real weapon and not just ornamental.

It’s unusual to find swords from the period, but they have emerged from burial mounds that were opened in the 19th century or as individual finds, the office said, as reported by AP.