Germany: archaeologists discover 'exceptionally rare' 3,000-year-old sword

A bronze sword made more than 3,000 years ago that is so well-preserved it almost still shines has been unearthed in Germany, according to officials.

Bavaria's state office for the preservation of historical monuments says the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century B.C., the middle of the Bronze Age was found during excavations last week in southern Germany.

It has a bronze octagonal hilt and comes from a grave in which three people—a man, a woman and a boy—were buried with bronze objects, the Bavarian office said in a statement this week.

It is not yet clear whether the three were related to each other and, if so, how.

"The sword and the burial still need to be examined so that our archaeologists can categorise this find more precisely," said the head of the office, Mathias Pfeil. "But we can already say that the state of preservation is extraordinary. A find like this is very rare."