Monday, February 16, 2026

Fascinating archaeological find becomes a source of knowledge



Bronze sword from Bavaria examined at Berlin X-ray source BESSY II – material analyses provide insights into craftsmanship in southern Germany during the Middle Bronze Age



Three instruments to examine the sword from Bronze age 

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The 3400 old sword from Bronze age was examined with three different non destructive methods at HZB and BESSY II. 

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The Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (BLfD) has sent a rare artefact from the Middle Bronze Age to Berlin for examination using cutting-edge, non-destructive methods. It is a 3,400-year-old bronze sword, unearthed during archaeological excavations in Nördlingen, Swabia, in 2023. Experts have been able to determine how the hilt and blade are connected, as well as how the rare and well-preserved decorations on the pommel were made. This has provided valuable insight into the craft techniques employed in southern Germany during the Bronze Age. The BLfD used 3D computed tomography and X-ray diffraction to analyse internal stresses at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), as well as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at a BESSY II beamline supervised by the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM).

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