German archaeologists have unearthed a very rare find during a dig in Nördlingen, Bavaria: a bronze sword believed to be over 3,000 years old still preserved in remarkable condition.
Experts have provisionally dated the sword to the end of the 14th century B.C., during the Middle Bronze Age. Prior examples from this era were mostly dug out from deliberately opened burial mounds during the 19th century or have surfaced as single, “presumed sacrificial,” finds.
The Nördlingen sword came from a grave containing the remains of three people—a man, woman, and teen—believed to have been buried together in “quick succession” alongside an array of “rich bronze goods.” It is not yet clear whether the three people were connected, but experts have ascertained that the sword was made in Bavaria, in what is now the southeast of Germany.
Bronze swords with octagonal hilts such as this were distributed from two main areas: southern Germany and what is now northern Germany and Denmark. By comparing casting techniques and decorations, archaeologists believe that some of the swords distributed in the north were replicas of southern German swords, while others could have been genuine imports or the products of “wandering artisans.”
The still-shining Nördlingen sword comprises a complex design, as the handle is cast over the blade in a process known as “overlay casting,” and the decoration is carefully inlaid. There are two real rivets remaining, while another pair of rivets are “implied.”
Despite the manufacturing efforts and lack of evidence that the blade was ever used, the Bavarian State Office believe the sword was a “real” weapon. Archaeologists plan to continue their examination of the sword and burial site in order to classify the exciting find more precisely.
