Berlin, Jun 17 (IANS): A 3,000 years-old ancient, extremely well-preserved Bronze Age sword has been found by German archaeologists in a grave in the southern town of Nordlingen, media reports said.

In a statement on Friday, Bavaria's State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD) said that the condition of the sword with an octagonal hilt thought to be from the late 14th Century BC is so good "it almost still shines", the BBC reported.

The BLfD said the grave contains the bones of a man, woman and boy, and other bronze items, but archaeologists are not sure whether the three were related.

The Office added that manufacturing such a sword was complicated, as the hilt was cast on to the blade and is believed to have been a real weapon, not just ornamental.

"The centre of gravity in the front part of the blade indicates that it was balanced mainly for slashing," it said.

"The sword and the burial still have to be examined so that our archaeologists can classify this excavation more precisely," CNN quoted BLfD head Professor Mathias Pfeil as saying in the statement.

"The state of preservation is exceptional! A find like this is very rare," he added.