Mysterious 3,000-year-old hoard with violently smashed sword emerges during construction project

Archaeologists in Central Europe recently came across an unusual hoard of Bronze Age tools — including a sword that had been deliberately smashed with a powerful blow.

The discovery was announced by Archaeological Center Olomouc (ACO), a research institution in the Czech Republic, on August 12. The hoard was found in a heavily flooded area at the end of May.

The cache, discovered near Kojetín in central Moravia during archaeological work connected to a railway project, contained an assortment of worn and broken bronze objects.