A Bronze Age treasure containing some 50 jewels and relics at least 2,500 years old has been discovered in Sweden by an orienteering enthusiast, authorities said Thursday when presenting the finds.
Deemed to be “spectacular” with a “fantastic” state of conservation, the discovery was made by chance in early April in a forest near the town of Alingsås in southwest Sweden, local authorities said.
The jewelry was found in the open in front of rocks, possibly after being dug up by animals.
“It looked like metal waste. At first I thought it was a lamp, ”said the discoverer, Tomas Karlsson.
This orienteering enthusiast, who was updating a map, then bent down and found a necklace and an adornment, he told the daily Dagens Nyheter.
“Everything seemed so new, at first I believed in fakes,” he said. After reporting the find, a team of archaeologists came to examine the site.
According to Johan Ling, professor of archeology at the University of Gothenburg, “most of the objects found are in bronze and are associated with a high-ranking woman from the Bronze Age”.
Dated between 750 and 500 BC. AD, they include necklaces, chains and staples very well preserved.