Ernst Skofteland was sure the experts were pulling his leg when they told him that the sword he had found in a roadside ditch four years ago was 3000 years old, dating back to the bronze age.

The sword is said to be the first bronze age sword discovered in this part of Agder. In Vest-Agder, only four bronze age have been found earlier, all of them in Lista. In Norway as a whole, a total of around 20 such swords have been found, Aftenposten reports.

Skofteland says he discovered the sword in a ditch by a lumber road in the forest four years ago, and did not think too much about it, but has kept it at home since.

But when a team of archaeologists began digging on a nearby farm, he asked them what it could be.

- When they told me how old it was, I thought they were kidding me, Skofteland says. The sword is about 57 cm in length and about 4 cm wide, and from around 1100-900 BC.

The sword has now been turned over to the proper authorities.

(Aftenposten)

Rolleiv Solholm