Ancient Dagger Up to 2.5k Years Old W Stars/Moons/Geometric Patterns Unearthed(www.smithsonianmag.com)
144 pointsby bookofjoe7 days ago14 comments
  • Zobat7 days ago
    A while ago there was a necklace discovered in Sweden [1], thought to be about 2000 years old it made international headlines. Then it made headlines again when analysis revealed it was a fake.

    Not saying this knife will turn out to be a fake but seeing "Experts will soon conduct a metallurgical analysis" makes me just that little bit hesitant.

    1) https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/unikt-jarnaldershalsb...

  • torlok7 days ago
    Since the press in Poland wrote about this, I'll add a little context. According to the Muzeum Historii Ziemi Kamieńskiej's spokesperson, the knife is actually up to 3-2,8. They used the X-ray fluorescence method to come up with that number. The dating is being disputed, as it was rushed out after the discovery, and it's not like you can use carbon dating on metal. There's still chemical analysis to be done, but that doesn't give accurate results either. Some scientists point to the XVIII-XIX CE. Apparently some experts had a look at it and say it's from the Middle East, and if made of brass it could mean it's from I BCE, and it's been stylized to look ancient.
    • verisimi7 days ago
      > the knife is actually up to 3-2,8

      I'd be surprised if it was 3-2.8 years old.

      > 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.

      As you also say:

      > it could mean it's from I BCE, and it's been stylized to look ancient.

  • bb887 days ago
    Reminds me of "Detectorists."

    https://www.amazon.com/Detectorists-BBC-Series/dp/B06XC4TPTN

    Here in the US, if you search along the roads, mostly you're just going to find trash.

    • MyOutfitIsVague7 days ago
      It's really a beautiful little show. Quaint, funny, and warm-hearted without being cloying or saccharine. Manages some mild drama and even melodrama without feeling forced or annoying.

      I still haven't watched the movie yet.

      • seanhunter7 days ago
        Wholeheartedly agree, and the two leads, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook (who also is the writer) are both exceptional (both in this and elsewhere). Really worth checking out. Also fun fact: Diana Rigg who played Andy’s girlfriend’s mother was her mother in real life.
    • verisimi7 days ago
      > Here in the US, if you search along the roads, mostly you're just going to find trash.

      You too could find something amazing, if you prepare the ground you intend to detect.

      • bb884 days ago
        I think maybe a better approach I saw was to sweep and vacuum up NY City sidewalks for gemstones that have fallen out of people's jewelry.

        It's similar to the idea of sweeping up the edges of high travelled roads looking for palladium. But I think the palladium recovered wasn't worth the effort. But the gem stones might be, even if they're tiny.

    • numtel7 days ago
      Good journalist not saying "metal detectors found..." :P
    • n1b0m7 days ago
      A real gem of a show and the theme song by Johnny Flynn is wonderful.
  • astennumero7 days ago
    I have a question. Who gets to own the dagger? The museum? Or the people who found it? What the general law around finding things like this and ownership?
    • mogrim7 days ago
      In the UK you have to declare the item, and local museums are then allowed to bid a fair market price for it, which you have to accept. This money would then be split equally between the person who discovered the item and the landowner. It works pretty well - there's an incentive to legally declare what you've found, as you'll get paid for it, and by doing so the archaeology is often preserved and the item doesn't just disappear into a private collection.

      Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996

    • zelo7 days ago
      In Poland everything found in the ground belongs to the nation treasury (government) and performing excavation in order to look for things like this is illegal without specific permit. So if you find something you either stash it and don't talk about it or it goes to museums.
    • animal5317 days ago
      The laws are usually highly regional for things like this.

      In some places it belongs to the government, in others the nearest historical authority, in others to you and/or with conditions. In others like Ireland its illegal, so not too long ago someone found two bronze age axe heads and mailed them in anonymously, creating the problem that their National Museum needed to know where the items were found.

      • butlike7 days ago
        It belongs in a museum! "So do you!"
    • agos7 days ago
      it obviously depends on the laws of each country - in Italy, for example, if you happen to find underground an object of historical, artistic, or archeological value you have 24 hours to hand it to the authorities (cultural conservation institutions, municipal authorities or law enforcement). On the other hand, if you are using a metal detector you can't claim it's a random finding and you might incur in charges for abusive archaeological research. If the finding is indeed random you are entitled to a monetary prize by the state.

      In other countries I would expect similar legislation

    • lawlessone7 days ago
      In a lot of places you'll get in trouble for digging things up because a huge part of the archeology is the objects location , context etc.
  • max_7 days ago
    Its so beautiful.

    I wonder what alloy it was made of.

    I am surprised it looks in such a good condition after 2,500 years buried in a lump of clay.

  • tommica7 days ago
    Simply an astonishing looking dagger.
  • thunkle7 days ago
    How did they manage to pack so many video ads into a single article?
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  • thedudeabides57 days ago
    what metal is it made of?
    • addaon7 days ago
      Bronze.

      Hallstatt was bronze age, and if it was an outlier like meteoric iron (a) it would look like it (corrosion) and (b) it would have been called out.

      • marcusverus7 days ago
        This article is the first I've ever heard of the Hallstatt culture, but wow were they awesome. Check out this amazing bronze bucket from ~600 BC. It has rivets!

        https://www.britannica.com/place/Hallstatt-archaeological-si...

      • thaumasiotes7 days ago
        > Bronze.

        > if it was an outlier like meteoric iron (a) it would look like it (corrosion)

        It is corroded. That's why it's green.

        Which, yes, means it's bronze, but note that it's being described as an "iron age dagger" and they think it was manufactured in southern Europe and traded to the north. Iron wouldn't be surprising.

  • brcmthrowaway7 days ago
    Why do they never find ancient keys to houses?
  • caradine7 days ago
    Doesn’t look very sharp. Pretty sure I’ve cut myself worse opening a can of soup. Call me when they find an ancient butter knife.
  • khaki547 days ago
    Imagine getting smoked by that thing! Pure class -- many worse ways to die.
  • camjw7 days ago
    Let's be real this is almost certainly cursed.
    • 7 days ago
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  • curtisszmania7 days ago
    [dead]