Metal Detectorists Unearth Ancient Dagger Decorated With Tiny Stars, Crescent Moons and Geometric Patterns
Found at a beach in northern Poland, the nearly ten-inch-long artifact could be up to 2,500 years old. It had been lodged inside a lump of clay
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After a recent storm, two metal detectorists went searching for treasure at a beach in northern Poland. They discovered a piece of history lodged in a lump of clay: a small ornamental dagger decorated with stars, crescent moons and geometric patterns.
The metal detectorists, Jacek Ukowski and Katarzyna Herdzik, notified experts at the nearby Museum of the History of Kamień Land. According to a statement, the museum’s director, archaeologist Grzegorz Kurka, met the duo at the beach to examine the artifact.
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The dagger is a metallurgical masterpiece that could be up to 2,500 years old, per the statement. It’s likely connected to the Hallstatt culture, which existed in western Europe between roughly the eighth and fifth centuries B.C.E. Experts think the weapons may have been crafted in southern Europe and imported to the Baltic coast.
Ukowski and Herdzik are members of a group of metal detectorists called the St. Cordula Association for the Saving of Monuments. The dagger isn’t Ukowski’s first big discovery. Last year, he found a broken papal bull—a pope’s engraved lead seal—that may have been linked to Clement VI.
But as he tells the Polish Press Agency (PAP), the nearly ten-inch-long dagger is his “most precious discovery” yet.
The storm had loosened the piece of clay from a nearby cliff face. “The cliff was eroded, and the block must have collapsed,” he adds. “I entered the place with a metal detector because it started ringing there.”
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The weapon’s thin handle is decorated with sculpted rings. It extends into a blade about the width of a thumb, which narrows to a sharp point. The top of the blade is stamped with tiny crescent moons and stars, while geometric patterns run the rest of its length.
The decorative stars may symbolize constellations, indicating a ritual significance in connection with a “solar cult,” per the statement. Alternatively, it could have been used by a wealthy warrior.
“A true work of art,” Kurka tells PAP. “I have not seen such a dagger in my experience with findings in Polish territories.”
Kurka thinks that the intricate craftsmanship indicates a high level of metallurgical skill, as Bartosz Kolodziejczyk of the Polish news website Interia reports.
The dagger is now in the hands of museum staffers. Experts will soon conduct a metallurgical analysis, which will shed light on the dagger’s metallic composition and the techniques used to create it. Researchers will also attempt to detect patterns of wear on the dagger, which could provide insights into how it was used.
Per the statement, the dagger is a valuable piece of the history of Pomerania—the historical European region that encompasses Kamień.
Once researchers finish studying the artifact, it will go on display in a Polish museum, according to Popular Mechanics’ Tim Newcomb.
