A 3,000-year-old bronze sword was accidentally discovered by an 11-year-old Chinese boy in a river.

Yang Junxi was washing his hands at the Laozhoulin River located in the eastern coastal of Jingsu province when he stumbled upon a battered bronze sword that turned out to be 3,000 years old.

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The boy gave the 10-inch weapon to his father and both of them decided to surrender it to the county's relic's bureau, which provided the estimate of the sword's age.

Yang told Chinese news agency Xinhua there were people who are willing to offer a lot of money  to buy the relic sword. He refused because he felt it's illegal to sell the relic.

Archaeologists from the bureau traced the weapon back to China's Shang and Zhou dynasties, which existed from 1600 B.C to 256 B.C.

"The short sword seems a status symbol of a civil official. It has both decorative and practical functions, but is not in the shape of sword for military officers," said Lyu Zhiwei, head of the bureau's cultural relics office.

Xinhua said the sword is second ancient artifact to be discovered recently in the region. Archaeologists plan to conduct an archaeological dig in the areas surrounding the river in search for more relevant relics.

Tags000-year-old bronze sword, Chinese Sword, Ancient sword