29 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3,000-Year-Old Rare British-Style Sickle Unearthed in France

On August 6, 2025, France’s Inrap (Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives) announced a remarkable archaeological find at Val-de-Reuil, in the Eure department: a rare British-style socketed sickle dating to the Late Bronze Age (10th–9th century BC).

A Legacy Buried in the Seine Valley

The sickle was found inside a small pit at the “Le Suret” site in the lower Seine Valley. Alongside it lay a cordoned pottery vessel and fragments of burnt sandstone, suggesting the deposit may have had ritual or symbolic significance.

Made from a copper alloy, the tool measures 134 mm in length, 50 mm in height, and weighs 104 g. While the blade shows signs of wear with chipped edges and a broken tip, the socket is remarkably well preserved. It features two decorative mouldings, a lateral suspension ring, and two pin-holes that once secured a wooden handle. One of these pins—likely made from bone—still remains intact. Inside the socket, traces of the original handle were found, though the wood was too degraded for precise identification.

Botanical Clues: Tracing the Handle’s Origins

Specialized wood analysis narrowed the handle’s material to five possible tree species: willow, poplar, alder, hornbeam, or hazel. Evidence points most strongly to willow, a flexible and readily available wood in the region during the period. Radiocarbon dating places the artifact firmly in the Atlantic Final Bronze Age, around the 10th to 9th centuries BC.

Val-de-Reuil, Le Suret (Eure): British-style socketed sickle from the Late Bronze Age, side view. Credit: S. Le Maho, Inrap
Val-de-Reuil, Le Suret (Eure): British-style socketed sickle from the Late Bronze Age, side view. Credit: S. Le Maho, Inrap

A Rare Find That Speaks Volumes

Socketed sickles of this British style are exceptionally rare on the European mainland. Only about a dozen examples have been recorded, most from coastal regions along the English Channel, including the Somme and Seine valleys and the Atlantic seaboard. Before this discovery, only two other specimens were known from the Seine Valley—one in Vernon and another recovered from the Seine in Paris.

The Val-de-Reuil sickle underscores the existence of extensive Bronze Age maritime and river trade routes, which connected both sides of the English Channel. These waterways played a central role in the movement of metals, tools, and ideas across what is now northern France and southern Britain.

Bridging Past and Present

Beyond its rarity, the sickle offers valuable insights into prehistoric craftsmanship, agricultural practices, and the cultural links between communities separated by sea but united through trade. Its sophisticated design reflects both functional utility and aesthetic care, marking it as an object of high skill in metalworking.

This discovery contributes to a broader understanding of the Bronze Age exchange systems and the strategic role of river valleys in fostering long-distance connections. It also enriches the archaeological record of the lower Seine Valley, offering a tangible link to a time when metal and water shaped the social and economic landscapes of Europe.

INRAP

Cover Image Credit: S. Le Maho, Inrap

Related Articles

3,000-year-old Treasure on the Iberian Peninsula made with material from a meteorite

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Scientists have recently discovered that some of the pieces in the amazing Bronze Age collection known as the Villena Treasure,...

As Thin as Modern Tools: World’s Oldest Steel Acupuncture Needles Discovered in China

6 July 2025

6 July 2025

In a discovery that reshapes the history of traditional Chinese medicine, archaeologists have unearthed what experts now confirm to be...

The first time in Anatolia, a legionnaires’ cemetery belonging to the Roman Empire unearthed

18 November 2022

18 November 2022

In the ancient city of Satala, in the Kelkit district of Gümüşhane in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey,...

Archaeologists find 4 Umayyad epigraphs in the ancient city Knidos

24 May 2022

24 May 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Knidos connected to Datça District of Muğla province in western Turkey have unearthed...

Statue heads of “Aphrodite” and “Dionysus” were found in Aizanoi Ancient City in Turkey’s

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

The statue heads of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Dionysus, the god of wine, were unearthed in...

Discovery of 1,500-Year-Old Mosaic at Ancient City of Dara in Mardin, Türkiye

7 July 2025

7 July 2025

According to information provided by Anadolu Agency, archaeologists have recently uncovered a remarkably well-preserved 1,500-year-old mosaic decorated with drop and...

Hidden 13th-century carving of ‘face of Christ’ discovered in Ballymore, Ireland

12 May 2022

12 May 2022

At Ballymore, in the county of Westmeath, Ireland, sunlight led to an interesting and special discovery. The sunlight revealed that...

Artificial intelligence is Detecting New Archaeological Sites in the Arabian desert

5 October 2024

5 October 2024

A team of researchers at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi has developed a machine-learning algorithm to help them trawl vast...

Mandrin cave in France shows Homo Sapiens arrived in Europe almost 10,000 years earlier than thought

10 February 2022

10 February 2022

According to archaeological research published in Science magazine on Wednesday, Homo sapiens ventured into the Neanderthal territory in Europe far...

2,700-Year-Old Rare Bronze Knives from the Early Saka Period Unearthed in Kazakhstan

17 July 2025

17 July 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, researchers and students from Margulan University have unearthed two rare bronze knives dating back over...

Millennia-Old İron Production Facilities Found in Iran

2 May 2021

2 May 2021

Archaeologists have uncovered many millennia-old iron manufacturing sites in a historical village in southcentral Iran. A local tourism official declared...

A previously unknown Roman fort discovered in Pembrokeshire in Wales

8 August 2024

8 August 2024

A previously unknown Roman fort has been discovered in north Pembrokeshire. The site, which has excited archaeologists, had been hidden...

1800 Years Old Roman Milestone Used as Seat at Turkish Mosque

7 November 2024

7 November 2024

A milestone from the Roman Emperor Gordianus III period, which dates to 239 AD, was discovered in the Fatsa district...

4,000-Year-Old Dilmun Temple Discovered on Failaka Island, Kuwait

12 November 2024

12 November 2024

A joint Danish-Kuwaiti excavation team led by the Mosgard Museum has uncovered a 4,000-year-old Bronze Age temple linked to the...

1400-Year-Old Folding Chair Found in a Woman’s Grave in Germany

30 August 2022

30 August 2022

In Steinsfeld, in the German state of Ansbach, archaeologists have unearthed a 1,400-year-old folding chair from an early medieval woman’s...