Rare Bronze Age Sword Discovered by Volunteer Divers on Historic Salcombe Site
A remarkably rare Bronze Age sword has been discovered by the South West Maritime Archaeological Group (SWMAG) during investigations on the internationally significant Salcombe Cannon and Moor Sand protected wreck sites off the Devon coast.
The discovery was made by a team of volunteers who formed working as part of the Historic England-funded SWMAG: The Next Generation of Affiliated Volunteers project, delivered in partnership with MSDS Marine. The project was established to support the future management of the protected wreck sites while helping to pass knowledge and skills to a new generation of maritime archaeology volunteers. The project won the Marsh Award for Community Archaeology Project of the Year in 2025.
The sword was recovered from an area first investigated in the late 1970s by pioneering maritime archaeologist Keith Muckelroy, whose groundbreaking work at Salcombe helped establish the site as one of the most important prehistoric maritime archaeological locations in north-west Europe.
The sword was discovered on a dive earlier this year by SWMAG divers Becky Gill and Catherine Gill.
Becky Gill said:
“A kid at Christmas does not come close to the excitement of finding this sword. It is testament to the dedication of every member of the team, past and present, as well as a lesson in following your intuition and gut instinct. I’m proud to be a part of the next chapter of this important site.”
Catherine Gill said:
“It is an amazing thrill to find and recover an object from under the sea, that turned out to be a Bronze Age sword. I wonder where and who made it, who was planning to use it, and who was the last person to touch it, before us, around 3000 years ago. It’s thanks to the team we have built up over the last couple of years, who all contributed to discovering this exciting find and we’re hoping for more!”
Initial specialist assessment suggests the weapon belongs to the Middle or Late Bronze Age (c.1300 – 800 BC), with erosion to its features making it difficult to assign it more confidently at present. It is hoped that future study will refine its type. Previous seabed finds from Salcombe already suggest that there are remnants of at least two separate Bronze Age shipwrecks.
Following conservation, the sword will be donated to the British Museum, where it will be studied and made accessible for future research.
Neil Wilkin at the British Museum, said:
“This is a wonderful and important addition to the Bronze Age story of the Salcombe site. The objects recorded by SWMAG to date play an important role in national and international exhibitions and accounts of this critical period of British history and reflect connections with Continental Europe. The discovery of a new sword continues this fascinating story and is a reminder of the potential of new finds to re-write the story of maritime trade, exchange and journeying off British shores 3,000 years ago.”
The Salcombe area has long been recognised as an internationally important prehistoric maritime site, with evidence suggesting extensive Bronze Age trade and seafaring activity. Finds from the site include weapons and tools that demonstrate far-reaching connections between communities around the Atlantic seaways over 3,000 years ago.
The newly discovered sword adds another important piece to this story and highlights the continuing archaeological potential of the site, even after decades of investigation.
The discovery also demonstrates the value of long-term volunteer involvement in heritage protection. SWMAG members have spent decades investigating and caring for the Salcombe sites, contributing thousands of volunteer hours to archaeological research and site management.
Alison James, Project Manager at MSDS Marine and Archaeological Advisor to SWMAG, said:
“This is an incredibly exciting discovery and a powerful reminder of the importance of protected wreck sites and the contribution volunteers continue to make to maritime archaeology. The fact that this discovery has been made by the next generation of volunteers makes it even more special and is a testament to the hours of diving that have taken place at the site by volunteers from SWMAG in the past and more recently.”
Hefin Meara, Maritime Archaeologist at Historic England, said:
“It’s fantastic to see this new discovery. This protected wreck site is in safe hands with the new generation of SWMAG volunteers.”
The SWMAG: The Next Generation of Affiliated Volunteers project was specifically designed to help secure the future of this work by embedding new divers within the existing volunteer team and ensuring knowledge transfer between generations.
Further analysis of the sword is now underway and MSDS Marine are undertaking its conservation before it is transferred to the British Museum. Researchers hope the find will contribute to a greater understanding of Bronze Age maritime activity, trade networks and metal deposition practices in the waters around south-west England.
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