Metal detectorist stumbles on broken item — and finds 2,800-year-old weapons in Wales

For thousands of years, an “unusual” collection of artifacts went unnoticed. Until, that is, a metal detectorist in Wales uncovered the buried treasures.

Mark Herman was using a metal detector in Pendoylan in 2019 when he stumbled upon a broken object, the Amgueddfa Cymru Museum Wales said in a Jan. 25 news release shared with McClatchy News.

Herman found several metal objects and reported the find to officials, the museum said.

Archaeologists identified the objects as an “unusual” collection of weapons from 2,800 years ago. A photo shows the set of seven artifacts.

Two of the ancient artifacts are bronze swords, the museum said. The smaller sword is a single fragment from near the end of the blade and has grooves running along it. The larger sword is broken into about five fragments.

Chris Griffiths, a researcher with the museum, identified the smaller sword as being “made in northwestern France” and “a key part of a much wider story, connecting those people who lived in Pendoylan Community with those who lived in northwestern France, around 3,000 years ago.”

The other five artifacts were identified as “bronze socketed axes,” archaeologists said. The axes vary in size, and two have “ribbed decoration” along the thicker end.

The ribbing indicates that these are “distinctive regional” axes from southeastern Wales, the museum said.

Archaeologists dated Herman’s find to between 1000 B.C. and 800 B.C., or the late Bronze Age.

Amgueddfa Cymru Museum Wales wants to acquire these treasures after a committee determines their value.

Pendoylan is about 140 miles west of London.

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