'I nearly fell out of my chair': 1,800-year-old mini portrait of Alexander the Great found in a field in Denmark

Metal detectorists have unearthed a miniature bronze portrait of Alexander the Great on an island in Denmark.

Finn Ibsen and Lars Danielsen made the discovery while conducting survey work in a field outside Ringsted, a city on the Danish island of Zealand, and surrendered the artifacts to Museum West Zealand, Danish news outlet TV2 Øst reported.

The bronze fitting, known as a bracket, measures approximately 1 inch (2.7 centimeters) in diameter, is cast of bronze alloy and includes an engraved portrait of a wavy-haired man wearing a crown of twisted ram horns, according to a statement from Museum West Zealand.

Based on the imagery, archaeologists immediately knew they were looking at the face of Alexander the Great, the legendary leader of the ancient kingdom of Macedon whose empire stretched from the Balkans to modern-day Pakistan by the time he died at age 32.

The piece "has the typical attributes of Alexander the Great, such as his distinct, wavy hair and ram horns," Freerk Oldenburger, an archaeologist at Museum West Zealand, told Live Science. "The image is almost identical to another bracket portrait found years ago that contains the same stylized image."

Related: Ancient tomb really does hold Alexander the Great's father, controversial study claims

That piece, also a metal bracket, was found by a different group of archaeologists in Jutland, Denmark. It was hidden among a stockpile of weapons and likely served as an "ornament worn on a silver shield mount — it was a way to show off," Oldenburger said.