German archaeologists find 3,000-year-old Bronze Age sword so well preserved it 'almost still shines'

German archaeologists have discovered a 3,000-year-old sword during excavations outside the Bavarian town of Nördlingen. The weapon, which dates to the mid-Bronze Age 14th century BC, was found in a tomb and is in exceptional condition, so much so that it “almost still shines”, officials of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation (BLFD) said in a statement released last week.

The sporadic plunder of similar burial mounds in the area over the past 3,000 years makes finding Nördlingen particularly rare.

THE sword has an octagonal handle marked with elegant inlays and is entirely in bronze, showing a high level of craftsmanship. Although the sword bears few signs of having been used in battle, archaeologists say they believe it was an actual weapon rather than an ornamental one. “The center of gravity in the front part of the blade indicates that it was balanced primarily for cutting,” the statement said.

The sword was found next to the bones of a man, a woman and a boy. Photo: courtesy Archäologie-Büro Dr. Woidich/Sergiu Tifui.

Found on the site of a former Celtic colony, the sword was buried with other bronze objects in a grave alongside three people (a man, a woman and a boy). Although this grouping suggests a family unit, archaeologists were keen to point out that it remains unclear how, if at all, the three were related.

“There will be a detailed anthropological examination of the skeletons of the three deceased people,” archaeologist Dr. Hubert Fehr told Artnet News. “It is possible that this clarifies the question of whether the three died at the same time and what the causes of death were. A DNA analysis would clarify whether the three people were biologically related.

The sword exhibits high craftsmanship, archaeologists said. Photo: courtesy Archäologie-Büro Dr. Woidich/Sergiu Tifui.

There were two main areas known to forge this type of octagonal swords in what is now Germany. Dense and homogeneous ground conditions are to be thanked for the state of preservation of the sword, as it has allowed the development of an even patina on the metal.

After preserving the sword, archaeologists hope to explore its provenance through a series of tests. “The composition of the alloys of the sword will be studied and X-ray images will provide more insight into the manufacturing process,” Fehr said. “The sword was produced using layer casting, a technically very demanding variant of bronze casting.”