Metal detectorist stumbles on 4,000-year-old weapon while walking to his car. See it
A metal detectorist in Poland searched the forest floor for military artifacts from World War I or World War II. He swept the device above the ground, working his way through the trees. Eventually, he decided to call it a day.
As Piotr Gorlach walked to his car, a final beep from his metal detector revealed the day’s most significant discovery.
Gorlach had left the metal detector on out of habit, he told Science in Poland in a Feb. 22 news release. As he headed out of the forest in Korzenica, he heard it beep and started digging. A flat metal object with a greenish hue emerged.
Archaeologists identified the artifact as an extremely rare 4,000-year-old dagger.
The ancient weapon was made of copper and measured just over 4 inches in length, the Museum in Jarosław Orsetti House said in a Feb. 22 Facebook post. Photos show the arrow-shaped dagger.
The dagger dated between 2500 B.C. and 2000 B.C., a period when metal products were first being introduced to Poland, the museum said. During this period, metal products were imported from modern-day Ukraine or Hungary and only available to elites who could afford them.
The 4,000-year-old weapon is the oldest metal dagger found in the province, the museum said.
Gorlach gave the ancient dagger to the Museum in Jarosław Orsetti House where it will be put on display.
Gorlach is part of the Historical and Exploration-Association Group Jarosław, which has found and donated several dozen artifacts, the release said.
Korzenica is a village in Jarosław County and about 170 miles southeast of Warsaw, near the Poland-Ukraine border.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland and the Facebook post from the Museum in Jarosław Orsetti House.
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Metal detectorist stumbles on 4,000-year-old weapon while walking to his car. See it."
