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The National Museum of Ireland says it received two Early Bronze Age flat axeheads anonymously at the end of June 2024. A note accompanying them reportedly said they had been found with a metal detector in the Westmeath area, but it did not give an exact location or contact details. The museum appealed for the sender to come forward because the missing findspot could help explain the objects and their place in Bronze Age Ireland.
What was sent to the museum?
The objects are two flat axeheads that the National Museum of Ireland dates to around 2150–2000 BC. The museum said they arrived anonymously at the end of June 2024. Its appeal for information says the accompanying note described them as found using a metal detector in the Westmeath area and said the sender wanted them conserved.
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That account does not establish a specific findspot: Westmeath is the area named in the note, not a verified location for the discovery. The museum did not receive the sender’s contact details, so it asked them to get in touch. It promised to treat information confidentially and use it only to verify the location and circumstances. The available reporting does not establish whether the sender later responded.
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- Dimensions: 13 inches in overall length and a 11.5-inch handle, 4.75-inch blade length and 6.5-inch blade width, and 6mm thickness.
- Strong: This throwing axe shows off a black finished hawk head shape with a pointed poll spike reverse-head made from tempered high-carbon steel to ensure quality over long term use and treated to resist against corrosion.
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- Accessory: Within the axe head blade is an arrow shaped cutout accented by the dark black finished that shows a medieval theme. The blade will be unsharpened but can easily be sharpened for practical use and throwing.
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Why is the exact findspot important?
The axeheads’ shape and estimated age tell archaeologists something about the objects themselves. Their precise location and circumstances could add a different kind of evidence: where people lived, how they used objects, and why objects may have been deposited in a particular place.
Matt Seaver, Assistant Keeper of Irish Antiquities at the NMI, said: “We are thrilled about the discovery of these Early Bronze Age axeheads, but to truly understand their significance, we need to know where they were found.” As he explained in a later Futurism report published July 16, 2024, “An object on its own is valuable in one sense, but an object in its context tells us something about where and why these objects were used.”
Rank #2
- The labrys symbol was often found during the Bronze Age archaeological recovery at the Palace of Knossos on Crete. Of all the Minoan religious symbols the labrys was the holiest.
- It is known to have a strong religious significance, for specific use by Minoan priestesses as a ceremonial item, perhaps during the sacrifice of animals such as bulls.
- Pure Bronze Item
- Height: 40 cm - 16 inches - Width: 22 cm - 8.6 inches - Weight: 2.7 Kg
- Handmade in Greece
The NMI also said the location could contribute information to an international study tracing the origins of metals used in Bronze Age objects. The appeal does not identify the metal’s source. Seaver told Futurism that the axeheads were reportedly found together and suggested their metal may have come from a source such as Ross Island in County Kerry; that is a possibility he raised, not an established origin for these two objects.
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The NMI’s current guidance for people who find an artefact says archaeological finds should be reported promptly. It points to Chapter 11 of the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 and says objects found without a known owner are State property.
Rank #3
- Dual Blade : Loggers used both side of the axe for different purposes. One blade could be ground to a fine edge of the blade for the clean cuttingwhile the second could be left with a coarser grind for hacking througth tough roots or knots. The blade of the axe is made by high carbon steel with ash wood handle.
- STURDY CONSTRUCTION: Unlike traditional single bit axe that have a blunt matel back (the poll) use for driving wedges, the double bit axe has two blades.
- VERSATILE USE: Because of this it is highly specilized purely for chopping and felling.
- BALANCED DESIGN: Carefully weighted head and handle offer optimal balance for improved swing control and reduced fatigue.
- DURABLE BUILD: Bouble sided axes range in size with lighter "Cruiser" axes being favored by field experts over heavier farm inherently dangerous tools to carry because of the exposed second blade
The museum’s guidance on metal-detecting law says written ministerial consent is required to use a detector to search for archaeological objects. Finding an object with a detector is not, by itself, evidence that the search was authorised. Anyone who comes across an archaeological object should follow the NMI’s current reporting guidance rather than assume a deadline or procedure from older advice.
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Rank #4
- The labrys symbol was often found during the Bronze Age archaeological recovery at the Palace of Knossos on Crete. Of all the Minoan religious symbols the labrys was the holiest.
- It is known to have a strong religious significance, for specific use by Minoan priestesses as a ceremonial item, perhaps during the sacrifice of animals such as bulls.
- Pure Bronze Item
- Height: 46 cm - 22 inches - Width: 39 cm - 15 inches
- Handmade in Greece
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