Mushroom hunter unearths gorgeous Bronze Age sword

[Black Orchid]

A man searching for mushrooms in a forest in the Czech Republic found much more than he was looking for when he uncovered an ancient sword and bronze axe, both thought to date from around 3,300 years ago.

Roman Novák was "mushrooming" in spring on a forested hillside near his home in the eastern Jesenicko region soon after it had rained, according to Radio Prague International.

Searching for edible mushrooms is a popular pastime in rural areas of the Czech Republic, and the fruiting body — the part of the fungus known as a mushroom — quickly swells with rainwater while the rest of the organism stays buried. Perhaps because he was looking at the ground, "I saw a piece of metal sticking out of some stones," Novák told RPI. "I kicked it and found that it was a blade, part of a sword. I then dug some more to find a bronze axe."

Novák reported his find to archaeologists, and a formal excavation of the site is now planned by a team from the nearby Silesian Museum in the city of Opava.

The ancient sword is especially striking in appearance: Its pommel and hilt are intricately decorated with engraved circles and rows of crescent-shaped marks, and although the blade is broken near the hilt it is otherwise complete.

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[Black Orchid]

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