A metal detectorist has uncovered a remarkably preserved 2,700-year-old bronze sword standing upright in the sandy soil of the Gdańsk Forest District in northern Poland.
The weapon dates to the Late Bronze Age, between 900 and 700 B.C., and was found near the Baltic coast by hobbyist Marcin Wiśniewski.
Wiśniewski, who had previously discovered a Bronze Age hoard in a forested area outside Gdańsk, alerted heritage officials to the find.
Following the report, archaeological staff recovered the artifact using proper excavation methods in collaboration with the finder.
Officials noted that this is not the first Bronze Age sword found in the district. In the 1920s, two antenna-hilt bronze swords were discovered in a peat bog at Rynarzewo.
Those artifacts were transferred to a provincial museum but were lost during World War II.
A press spokesperson for the regional monument protection office confirmed that specialists will provide further details once the sword is transferred to a museum and studied.
The provincial heritage conservator will determine which institution receives the sword, a decision that has not yet been made.
The discovery adds to a series of significant finds in Poland, including a cache of early medieval weapons recovered from a lake last year and a 700-year-old sword pulled from the Vistula River by an angler.
