5 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an actual Bronze Age sword from between 1080 and 900 B.C.

In the 1930s, the sword was recovered from the Danube in Budapest. The sword was part of a large consignment of artifacts that included both authentic archaeological objects and replicas when it was acquired by the Field Museum shortly after its discovery. This one was misidentified when it arrived and remained so for nearly a century.

The sword’s true identity was rediscovered when curators prepared for the upcoming First Kings of Europe exhibition.

Hungarian archaeologists working alongside Field Museum scientists asked to see the “replica” sword that had been retrieved from the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary in the 1930s, where it may have been placed in an ancient ritual 3,000 years ago to commemorate lost loved ones or a battle.

Image of gold breast plate. Kosmatkite, Bulgaria. Courtesy of National Museum of History, Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo by Todor Dimitrov.

The Field Museum scientists, who included a chemist and archeologists, used an X-ray fluorescence detector, which looks like a ray gun. When they compared the sword’s chemical composition to that of other known Bronze Age swords in Europe, they discovered that the bronze, copper, and tin content was nearly identical.

Bill Parkinson, a curator of anthropology at the Field who helped create the upcoming First Kings of Europe exhibition, says he was surprised by the results.  “Usually this story goes the other way round,” he says– “What we think is an original turns out to be a fake.”

The sword was confirmed authentic too late to be included with the other Bronze Age objects in the exhibition, but the newly-authenticated sword will be installed in the Field Museum’s main hall as a preview for the new exhibition.

This exhibition examines how communities on the Balkan Peninsula evolved from small agrarian villages to enormously wealthy kingdoms between the Neolithic and Iron Age periods (6,000-500 B.C.) and features over 200 artifacts from 11 countries, many of which have never been seen in the United States.

First Kings of Europe opens on March 31, 2023. More information on the First Kings of Europe can be found here.

Related Articles

The ‘extraordinary’ Roman mosaic depicting scenes from Homer’s Iliad unearthed in a Rutland farmer’s field is the first of its kind in England

25 November 2021

25 November 2021

The 1,500-year-old mosaic discovered by a farmer was considered Britain’s “most exciting” Roman find. The artwork was discovered on private...

Falaj al Misfah: Working for a thousand years

26 September 2021

26 September 2021

The village of Al Misfah Abriyeen is known for its lush oasis, magnificent orchards, and year-round water source, the ‘aflaj.’...

Archaeologists identify three new Roman camps in Arabia

27 April 2023

27 April 2023

Through remote sensing analysis, archaeologists have identified three new Roman fortified camps throughout northern Arabia. Their study, released today in...

After 85 years of adventure, Globetrotting Mycenaean gold ring returns home

3 June 2022

3 June 2022

The 3,000-year-old gold Mycenaean ring, stolen from the Rhodes Archaeological Museum during World War II and later bought by a...

Archaeologists discover Stargazer idol fragment in Turkey’s In the ancient city of Beçin

15 December 2021

15 December 2021

During archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Beçin in the Milas district of southern Turkey’s Muğla, the head of...

A 3300-year-old seal and a dagger/sword reminiscent of Mycenaean swords were discovered in the Heart of western Anatolia

18 July 2022

18 July 2022

A unique 3300-year-old seal and a sword/dagger reminiscent of Mycenaean swords were unearthed during the excavations of Tavşanlı Höyük (Tavşanlı...

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

17 August 2024

17 August 2024

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a ...

The biblical narrative of Sodom may have been inspired by a cosmic meteorite that devastated an ancient city

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The Bible account of Sodom’s destruction lies at the heart of classic “fire and brimstone” judgment day prophesies. But what...

A 2000-year-old Rare Artifact was Found Near Poltava

25 May 2021

25 May 2021

Scarab beetle pendant found near the Ukrainian city of Poltava. During the building of the H-31 motorway in the Poltava...

Rare ivory plaques from First Temple Period were discovered in Jerusalem

8 September 2022

8 September 2022

An extraordinary find was made in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, one of only...

The Stolen Frescoes were Returned to the Pompeii Archaeological Park

20 May 2021

20 May 2021

Six frescoes ripped from the remains of ancient Roman villas years ago have been returned to the Pompeii archaeological site,...

27,000-year-old Pendants made from giant sloths suggest earlier arrival of people in the Americas

16 July 2023

16 July 2023

Archaeologists discovered three pendants made from the bony material of an extinct giant sloth in a rock shelter in central...

A 1,000-year-old burial chariot dating back to the Liao Dynasty, founded by the nomadic Khitan discovered in Inner Mongolia

8 August 2024

8 August 2024

Archaeologists from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have discovered a hearse from...

New study reveals the Milky Way’s hidden role in ancient Egyptian mythology

11 April 2024

11 April 2024

The ancient Egyptians were keen observers of the night sky. They incorporated their astronomical observations into their religion, mythology, and...

Ushabti figurines on display at Izmir Archeology Museum

18 September 2021

18 September 2021

The 2,700-year-old “Ushabti” statuettes, discovered in archaeological digs in western Turkey and used in Egyptian burial ceremonies, are being shown...