Roman dagger found in Switzerland

A volunteer archaeologist using a metal detector in Switzerland uncovered a 2000-year-old dagger (pugio) in 2019. Due to its cross-shaped handle, the dagger can be dated back to 50 BC. Daggers of this type are rare. Only four are known. The dagger was found in the mountainous Graubünden region of Switzerland, an area believed to be the site of battle where Imperial Roman soldiers fought Rhaetian warriors in 15 BC. His discovery sparked an excavation of the area that revealed a trove of ancient military artifacts including lead slingshot and hobnails from soldiers' boots. A Roman coin minted between 29 BC and 26 BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus was found.

Slingshot feature inscriptions by the Roman legions that made them.

The Rhaetians, or Raeti, were a confederation of tribes that lived in the Alpine regions of what are now Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany. They opposed Roman occupation, fighting a series of battles against the invaders in the first century B.C.E. The clash near the gorge probably took place around 15 B.C.E., when Roman Emperor Augustus ordered a military campaign.