A 4000-year-old dagger and fragments of human skulls were found in an Italian cave. Photo

Deep in a cave in Italy, archaeologists from the University of Ca' Foscari found a 4000-year-old copper dagger and fragments of human skulls. Most likely, this cave was used for burials, but it also contains the remains of an ancient hearth.

According to archaeologists, the discovery of metal artifacts, especially a dagger, was completely unexpected in this context. They are confident that it will help them better understand these prehistoric people, Live Science writes.

"The moment we found the dagger was unforgettable. We couldn't believe it," said Federico Bernardini, an archaeologist at Ca' Foscari University in Venice.

Burials in caves or rock vaults were common in this region in the years between 4500 and 4000 years ago, during the Late Copper Age (2750-2200 BC) and Early Bronze Age (2200-950 BC). But the discovery of the dagger was unexpected, as such rare finds from those periods are usually found in places of worship.

"As we were carefully removing the last layers of soil, a flash of copper caught our attention," Bernardini said, adding that they immediately recognized the importance of the find.

The dagger is one of several artifacts found in the Tina Jama Cave, on the "Karst Plateau" of exposed and heavily weathered limestone along Italy's northeastern border with Slovenia. Together with other findings in the cave, the dagger helps to accurately determine the age and technological skills of different groups of people who lived in the cave at different times from 9000 to 4000 years ago.

"The research is still ongoing, but it allows us to collect valuable data to reconstruct the prehistory of the area," Bernardini explained.

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