In a remarkable archaeological discovery, a copper dagger believed to be over 4,000 years old has been unearthed by Piotr Gorlach, a metal detectorist, in the dense forests near the village of Korzenica, Subcarpathia Province, Poland.

Gorlach stumbled upon the ancient artifact while conducting a routine search with his metal detector, having initially overlooked it as he concluded his day’s exploration.

The dagger, exhibiting a green patina on its surface, was identified as a significant find by Gorlach, who recognized its age surpassing that of the military items from World War I and II commonly sought in the area.

Upon the discovery, Gorlach promptly informed archaeologists from the Orsetti House Museum in Jarosław, who conducted a preliminary investigation of the copper dagger.

Marcin Burghardt, an archaeologist with the Jarosław museum, dated the artifact to the second half of the 3rd millennium B.C.

Elżbieta Sieradzka-Burghardt, another archaeologist from the same institution, highlighted the rarity of copper objects in this region during that period, predating the emergence of bronze items, Newsweek reported.

Emphasizing the dagger’s potential significance, she expressed its importance in advancing research on the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age in southeastern Poland.

This singular artifact is identified as the only one of its kind ever discovered in Podkarpackie province and stands as the oldest metal dagger found in the region to date.

Sieradzka-Burghardt noted that a similar dagger was previously uncovered in the 1960s, making this recent find an unexpected and significant contribution to archaeological knowledge.

Given the scarcity of copper items during the 3rd millennium B.C., the dagger’s soft composition suggests its impracticality for combat, leading researchers to posit its role as a symbol of high social status rather than a functional weapon.

While the specific individual associated with the dagger remains unidentified, archaeologists speculate that it likely belonged to a warrior of elevated social standing.

Written by B.C. Begley