A Bronze Age sword dating to the 13th century BCE has been recovered from the submerged settlement of Lake Mezzano in central Italy. The sword was found during the latest research campaign along the lake’s southern shore. Archaeologists from the Archaeology Underwater Service of the Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Viterbo and Southern Etruria led the work.
The bronze weapon is in excellent condition. Its cutting edge is still sharp after more than 3,000 years underwater. The find marks the third sword recovered from Mezzano since research at the site began in the 1970s. Its date places the sword in the Late Bronze Age, when communities across central Italy maintained contact networks spanning much of the peninsula and the Mediterranean.
