In 2019, workers discovered a large accumulation of iron ingots in Austria that had been submerged in the Danube River for over two millennia. Researchers were able to count over 500 bipyramidal ingots and their parts, with a total mass exceeding one ton.
According to the authors of the publication in the journal Antiquity, similar finds in Europe dating back to the Iron Age have not previously been recorded in such large quantities. The discovered volume of iron is potentially sufficient to equip swords for a military unit of 500 men.