perfectly preserved bronze sword discovered over 3,000 years ago – Corriere.it

It can’t be the sword of Highlanders because it was found in Bavaria and not in Scotland, and because it dates back to over 3 thousand years ago and not to the Middle Ages. The discovery made in a tomb by German archaeologists in the district of Danube-Ries, near Nordlingen, however, has the traits of exceptionality. It’s about a Middle Bronze Age sword dating from the 14th century BC. C. in extraordinary condition. “It almost seems to glow,” said Professor Mathias Pfeil, head of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation.

A grave goods

The sword was part of a grave goods from a burial with three people: a man, a woman and a young man with other objects in bronze. The three were buried in rapid succession, but scholars have not yet clarified whether they were in any way related. The sword found has full octagonal hilt in bronze. Swords from that period are rare, well-preserved ones even rarer. The making of swords with an octagonal hilt is complex: the hilt is cast over the blade, in the technology known by experts as “overlapping casting”. The hilt also has inlays, punches and 2-3 rivets. At first glance, the sword appears to show no signs of being hit, but the center of gravity at the front of the blade suggests that it was used for cutting and not pointing. So a real sword, not just an ornamental object.

The realization

Archaeologists indicate that there were two production areas for swords of this type in what is now Germany at this time: one in the northern area towards the border with present-day Denmark, the other in southern Germany. Those produced in the northern area were in practice replicas of those made further south. “The sword and the burial still need to be examined better in order for archaeologists to be able to catalog this find more precisely,” Pfeil concluded.