Archaeologists discovered a rare Bronze Age sickle in France at the Sourit site in the Val de Rouille area of the Lower Seine Valley. This artifact dates back to the Late Atlantic Bronze Age, between 1200 and 600 BC, and is one of few similar finds recorded in the country. The sickle is made of a copper alloy and remains largely intact despite a broken tip, which was found alongside the main piece. The curved blade shows signs of extensive use. The socket features a side ring and two holes that were previously used to attach a wooden handle with bone pegs, with traces of the handle still remaining inside. This type of hollow sickle is believed to originate from the British Isles and is rarely found in France, with only about ten known examples concentrated along the English Channel coast in the Somme and Seine valleys and on the Atlantic coast.

The sickle points to active trade networks linking communities on both sides of the Channel at the end of the Bronze Age, relying heavily on river systems like the Seine as main transport routes for people, goods, and raw materials. The Late Atlantic Bronze Age was marked by a sharp increase in trade of bronze metalwork. Previously, these items were exchanged in small numbers, often as diplomatic gifts among elites. Since around 1200 BC, archaeological records show a significant rise in the quantity and frequency of metalwork circulation. This shift is seen as the emergence of an early trade system that replaced the limited exchange networks of previous centuries. The newly discovered sickle, both in terms of its manufacture and its journey from the British Isles to the Lower Seine Valley, represents a rare and tangible link to this transformative era.