(LIVE SCIENCE) – A metal detectorist in England discovered a tiny pyramid-shaped artifact that may have been used by an elite warrior at the top of his scabbard.
The 1,400-year-old sword pyramid is about 0.24 inches (6 millimeters) high and 0.47 inches (12 mm) long at its base. It was found in a place where no archaeological site is known to exist.
"There is no archaeological site associated with the find," said Helen Geake, a national finds adviser with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), run by the British Museum and National Museum Wales. "It seems to have been randomly lost in the middle of nowhere, not buried, and not put out with the rubbish in a crowded settlement." Metal detectorists are encouraged – and, in some cases, required – to report discovered artifacts to PAS.
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