Scientific investigation of a stunning 3,400-year-old bronze sword discovered in 2023 in Nordlingen, southern Germany, has revealed how the metal was worked, constructed and decorated. The weapon’s exceptional state of preservation – intact from pommel to head, still polished in places and with one edge – gave researchers a unique opportunity to reveal new information about Bronze Age metalworking and craft techniques.
The Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (BLfD) sent the sword to Berlin where it was analyzed using non-destructive methods including 3D computed tomography, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The results showed that the metal was worked with an incredibly high level of precision and skill.
The resolution of the 3D CT scan is so high that every detail is revealed, down to the tool marks left on the weapon. Imaging examination revealed that the blade was clamped and butted along the tang, much like the great German steel kitchen knives of today.
The deep grooves on the pommel and pommel plate that form a geometric pattern have what appears to be bronze. Based solely on what the material looks like, the researchers expect the ductwork to be decorated with tin, which is soft and malleable and easy to use on such small jobs. Instead, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, which floods the object’s surface with synchrotron radiation, causing the atoms to emit X-rays specific for the measurable element, identified the entangled material as copper wires strung together. Copper is a difficult material, and tin is much more difficult to work with than it would be to join the grooves. This confirms that the metal worker is highly skilled.
Traces of tin and, in some places, a little lead, which probably came from the bronze alloy, were also detectable. ‘We are aware of this type of connection using copper wires in brass from other discoveries,’ says [Dr Johann-Friedrich Tolksdorf, regional representative of the BLfD]. ‘Red copper may have been patinated, eg chemically blackened with urine, to make it better than gold-coloured bronze.’ […]
It will take some time to fully evaluate the measurement data, after which the experts plan to publish their findings and conclusions. ‘We hope to also be able to reconstruct whether this sword was made in a specific workshop, for example – so far we can only assume that it was produced in southern Germany, one of the two main areas where octagonal swords were prevalent in Bronze Age Germany,’ says Tolksdorff.
