I highly, highly recommend A History of the World in 100 Objects (particularly the out of print 2011 hardback, which is not available from any non-Amazon sources I could find.) As you can guess from the title, it tells the story of human history through archaeological finds. They are all from the British Museum, so it wouldn't include something like the sword from the OP, but given that independence from the British is the most widely celebrated holiday in the world, it's nearly comprehensive.

https://www.amazon.com/History-World-100-Objects/dp/06700227...