Bronze Age find in Limburg reason to rethink history

VENLO — A major archeological find of bronze weaponry in Central Limburg in the 1970s has caused archeologists and historians to rethink theories about the level of manufacturing sophistication by the Celts in the Bronze Age. A display of 3,000-year old artifacts was revealed to the public for the first time recently by Limburgs Museum, which conserved a collection of 83 items. The axe heads, spears and the remainders of swords were of high quality. These only could have been forged at temperatures over 1070 degrees Celcius, which requires special equipment. Equally noteworthy is the size of the find, in all representing a total weight of nearly twenty kilograms. Such a cache suggests industrial production, instead of an occasional effort at weapon making. After the display is taken down in March, the collection will be studied in more depth at the Leiden University. Experts are particularly interested in finding out more about the composition of the material of which the weaponry is made. The province of Limburg has many more sites where Bronze Age material has been found.