Ancient Dagger Up to 2.5k Years Old W Stars/Moons/Geometric Patterns Unearthed

How did they manage to pack so many video ads into a single article?

What with their funding being slashed as we speak, look for way more!

No ads here https://archive.is/aoqkl

Reminds me of "Detectorists."

https://www.amazon.com/Detectorists-BBC-Series/dp/B06XC4TPTN

Here in the US, if you search along the roads, mostly you're just going to find trash.

It's really a beautiful little show. Quaint, funny, and warm-hearted without being cloying or saccharine. Manages some mild drama and even melodrama without feeling forced or annoying.

I still haven't watched the movie yet.

Simply an astonishing looking dagger.

what metal is it made of?

Bronze.

Hallstatt was bronze age, and if it was an outlier like meteoric iron (a) it would look like it (corrosion) and (b) it would have been called out.

> Bronze.

> if it was an outlier like meteoric iron (a) it would look like it (corrosion)

It is corroded. That's why it's green.

Which, yes, means it's bronze, but note that it's being described as an "iron age dagger" and they think it was manufactured in southern Europe and traded to the north. Iron wouldn't be surprising.

Since the press in Poland wrote about this, I'll add a little context. According to the Muzeum Historii Ziemi Kamieńskiej's spokesperson, the knife is actually up to 3-2,8. They used the X-ray fluorescence method to come up with that number. The dating is being disputed, as it was rushed out after the discovery, and it's not like you can use carbon dating on metal. There's still chemical analysis to be done, but that doesn't give accurate results either. Some scientists point to the XVIII-XIX CE. Apparently some experts had a look at it and say it's from the Middle East, and if made of brass it could mean it's from I BCE, and it's been stylized to look ancient.

A while ago there was a necklace discovered in Sweden [1], thought to be about 2000 years old it made international headlines. Then it made headlines again when analysis revealed it was a fake.

Not saying this knife will turn out to be a fake but seeing "Experts will soon conduct a metallurgical analysis" makes me just that little bit hesitant.

1) https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/unikt-jarnaldershalsb...

> the knife is actually up to 3-2,8

I'd be surprised if it was 3-2.8 years old.

> The dagger isn’t Ukowski’s first big discovery. Last year, he found a broken papal bull—a pope’s engraved lead seal—that may have been linked to Clement VI.

As you also say:

> it could mean it's from I BCE, and it's been stylized to look ancient.

> Here in the US, if you search along the roads, mostly you're just going to find trash.

You too could find something amazing, if you prepare the ground you intend to detect.

We also have "the moped ring" [1], an 800-gram gold+silver necklace from 500 AD that some kid clipped a piece off to fix their moped. :)

This is on display at the Historical Museum in Stockholm, which has a fancy vault-like "Gold room" [2] showing off lots of found treasures. Recommended.

[1]: https://historiska.se/upptack-historien/artikel/ostra-hoby-h...

[2]: https://historiska.se/utstallningar/the-gold-room/

I have a question. Who gets to own the dagger? The museum? Or the people who found it? What the general law around finding things like this and ownership?

In Poland everything found in the ground belongs to the nation treasury (government) and performing excavation in order to look for things like this is illegal without specific permit. So if you find something you either stash it and don't talk about it or it goes to museums.

it obviously depends on the laws of each country - in Italy, for example, if you happen to find underground an object of historical, artistic, or archeological value you have 24 hours to hand it to the authorities (cultural conservation institutions, municipal authorities or law enforcement). On the other hand, if you are using a metal detector you can't claim it's a random finding and you might incur in charges for abusive archaeological research. If the finding is indeed random you are entitled to a monetary prize by the state.

In other countries I would expect similar legislation

The laws are usually highly regional for things like this.

In some places it belongs to the government, in others the nearest historical authority, in others to you and/or with conditions. In others like Ireland its illegal, so not too long ago someone found two bronze age axe heads and mailed them in anonymously, creating the problem that their National Museum needed to know where the items were found.

All i see is an nginx welcome page

Let's be real this is almost certainly cursed.

Wholeheartedly agree, and the two leads, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook (who also is the writer) are both exceptional (both in this and elsewhere). Really worth checking out. Also fun fact: Diana Rigg who played Andy’s girlfriend’s mother was her mother in real life.

Good journalist not saying "metal detectors found..." :P

This article is the first I've ever heard of the Hallstatt culture, but wow were they awesome. Check out this amazing bronze bucket from ~600 BC. It has rivets!

https://www.britannica.com/place/Hallstatt-archaeological-si...

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A real gem of a show and the theme song by Johnny Flynn is wonderful.

In the UK you have to declare the item, and local museums are then allowed to bid a fair market price for it, which you have to accept. This money would then be split equally between the person who discovered the item and the landowner. It works pretty well - there's an incentive to legally declare what you've found, as you'll get paid for it, and by doing so the archaeology is often preserved and the item doesn't just disappear into a private collection.

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996

Imagine getting smoked by that thing! Pure class -- many worse ways to die.

Doesn’t look very sharp. Pretty sure I’ve cut myself worse opening a can of soup. Call me when they find an ancient butter knife.

In a lot of places you'll get in trouble for digging things up because a huge part of the archeology is the objects location , context etc.

It belongs in a museum! "So do you!"

Its so beautiful.

I wonder what alloy it was made of.

I am surprised it looks in such a good condition after 2,500 years buried in a lump of clay.

Why do they never find ancient keys to houses?

This guy already found another big deal find that was legit, a papal bull. They are part of a historical preservation group. I think you can bet on it being real.

Looks like bronze.

I think maybe a better approach I saw was to sweep and vacuum up NY City sidewalks for gemstones that have fallen out of people's jewelry.

It's similar to the idea of sweeping up the edges of high travelled roads looking for palladium. But I think the palladium recovered wasn't worth the effort. But the gem stones might be, even if they're tiny.