Overview

• Maik Böhner spotted a greenish glint while walking with his sons near Gudersleben and promptly reported the find to local officials and the heritage office.
• Regional archaeologist Daniel Scherf identified the object as a middle Bronze Age hilt-plate dagger and preliminarily dated it to about 1800-1400 BC.
• The dagger will be cleaned, conserved and subjected to scientific and archaeological analyses at the restoration workshops in Weimar.
• After conservation, authorities intend to exhibit the piece at the Heimatmuseum Ellrich.
• Officials are keeping the exact location confidential to discourage illegal metal-detecting, and the find, made without any equipment, may have been exposed by heavy rain in the karst landscape.