The detectorist discovered a Hallstatt sword on his first outing. On the second, a neck warmer

A sword and several other objects from the Late Bronze Age and earlier Iron Age were discovered in a swamp near Veksø, Denmark . The bronze sword with iron rivets is a unique evidence of the transition period. It was found by detectorist Claus Falsby on his first detector expedition.

He immediately contacted the ROMU museum organisation for Central and Western Zealand. Archaeologists discovered other objects at the site: two small bronze axes, three anklets (ankle bracelets), a fragment of a large fibula and an object of unknown purpose. The finds have not yet been analysed.

Just a few days later, Claus got lucky again with the detector. About 70 m from the sword discovery site, he found a large bronze necklace with a fish pattern, which is only the second example of its kind in Denmark. It probably comes from the Baltic Sea coastal area in what is now Poland. It was probably imported to Veksø as a trade item.

Veksø stands on a hill surrounded by peat bogs. In the Nordic Bronze Age (c. 1750-500 BC), lakes were located here. Rare archaeological finds from the Early and Middle Bronze Age have also been discovered in the wider area.

"This is what I would describe as a very rare find. We have a large number of deposits from the Younger and Middle Bronze Age where bronze objects are found in the bogs. But from the end of the Bronze Age we don't know that many," said excavation leader Emil Winther Struve of the ROMU. "The sacrificial tradition, so visible and dominant, which relates a lot to society throughout the Bronze Age, is in decline at the end of the Bronze Age," he added.

The bronze sword with iron rivets is literally a physical manifestation of the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. They have not yet been analysed, but it may be these iron rivets that represent the oldest known iron finds in Denmark. This would mean that the objects were deposited around 500 BC. The design of the sword also suggests that it was not local, but was an import from areas north of the Alps, where the Hallstatt culture originated in the late Bronze Age.

"Their swords have a completely different shape to existing swords. Maybe because they were used differently. Earlier swords were flimsy and more likely to be used for stabbing. But these are stronger and have a different weight, so you can use them more violently and chop with them. The Hallstatt culture spread quite rapidly. It had a warlike, aggressive structure that required conquest, wars and conflicts," said Emil Winther Struve.

Before the sword was sacrificed, it was purposely bent. This rendered it useless as a weapon - but the materials and design still represented an expensive sacrifice. The sword of Egedal illustrates the transition from the old to the new era of great social and cultural change in Denmark. It demonstrates that the local elite held on to Bronze Age traditions until the Iron Age and still had the resources to make costly sacrifices despite the recession.

Roman Nemec

Sources: romu.dk, via.ritzau.dk, heritagedaily.com

the sword was purposely bent

a necklace with a delicate herringbone pattern

a neckerchief with a multifaceted cross-section

iron rivet

detail - hilt rivets