Archaeologists have recovered a well-preserved bronze sword from Lake Mezzano in central Italy, and its cutting edge is still sharp, Live Science and Archaeology News Online report.

The lake fills the crater of an ancient volcano about 100 kilometers northwest of Rome. The sword dates to the Late Bronze Age, around the 13th century BC. Live Science puts its age at about 3,300 years.

The find was announced by the local heritage office for the province of Viterbo and southern Etruria. Its underwater archaeology team led the work along the lake's southern shore. This is the third sword found in the lake since research there began in the 1970s.

People in the Bronze Age built a large settlement on wooden piles in the lake, starting early in the second millennium BC. The same dig turned up intact pottery, bronze axes, arrowheads, daggers, spearheads, pins and a bronze razor.

The sword was found close to the razor. Live Science and Archaeology News Online note that similar pairings at other Bronze Age sites have been linked to people of high status, such as warrior elites.

Why the sword ended up in the lake is still an open question. Across Europe, Bronze Age people often placed weapons and other metal objects in water, probably as part of rituals. Live Science reports the sword may have been an offering to a god.

"Bronze weapons were not only instruments of combat, but also symbols of prestige, identity, and power," the heritage office said in its statement. At the time, people in central Italy traded across the Mediterranean.

Archaeology News Online reports that the metal objects were found at strikingly similar depths across the site. More underwater digs are planned to map the finds in detail.

What we know: A 13th century BC bronze sword with a sharp edge has been found in Lake Mezzano.
What we don't: Why the sword was placed in the lake, and who it belonged to.