A Bronze Age sword has been found by amateur archaeologists near the Danish town of Svebølle, it was announced on Wednesday 31 August 2016.
Photo: Museum Vestsjælland
Local residents Ernst Christiansen and Lis Therkelsen had taken their metal detector along when they were out for an evening stroll in a field in western Zealand when the machine alerted them to the presence of something under the ground.
When they dug down some 30 cm, they found what appeared to be the end of a sword. Recognizing the potential importance of the discovery, the two amateur archaeologists reburied the object and contacted Museum Vestsjælland the next morning.
"Still sharp"
Museum inspector Arne Hedegaard Andersen joined the pair the next day and together they uncovered what the museum called "an incredibly well-preserved sword".
"The sword is so well-preserved that you can clearly see the fine details. And it is even sharp," the museum wrote in a press release (in Danish).
The museum believes that the sword dates to Phase IV of the Nordic Bronze Age, or somewhere between 1100 and 900 BC.
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