A Bronze Age sword that could date back as far as 1700 BC has been found by a man using a metal detector in his parents’ back garden.
Matti Rintamaa was using a metal detector in his parents’ back garden in the Satakunta region of western Finland when he made the incredible discovery in July, which has only just been made public by the Satakunta Museum and the Finnish Heritage Agency.
Sami Raninen, a photographer and curator at the Finnish Heritage Agency, took this picture of the sword and provided it to Newsflash.
The Satakunta Museum said in a statement that the sword was found in several pieces in the garden and that discoveries such as this, which could date back as far as 1700 BC, are very rare because “less than 200 Bronze Age bronze objects” have been found in Finland.
They added: “A total of about 25 swords or daggers belonging to the period have been found, two of which were found in Panelia.
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“During the Bronze Age, the area around the ancient Gulf of Panelia was densely populated, as evidenced by the area’s numerous burial mounds, or Hiiumaa heaths. The panel also houses Finland’s largest known Bronze Age burial mound, the Royal Tomb.”
They also said that “the original context of the sword can only be guessed at, but possibly it was once sacrificed to the coastal waters of the ancient Gulf of Panelia.”
The Nordic Bronze Age lasted from 1700 BC to 500 BC and while information about the period is scarce, scholars tend to concur that many of the belief systems would have been similar to those of Ancient Greece, with polytheistic cults forming the basis of what would become Norse mythology.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash
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