Last updated at 19:21, Sunday, 16 September 2012

THREE bronze axes dating back almost 3,000 years will be among the main attractions when a new gallery opens at Barrow’s Dock Museum in November.

DELIGHT: Sabine Skae and Dot Boughton of Barrow Dock Museum, with the bronze axe headsMILTON HAWORTH REF: 50038515B001

The remarkable Iron Age artefacts were uncovered by a local metal detectorist in Ulverston earlier this year and have been donated to the museum.

The axes were forged sometime between 800BC and 600BC and experts suspect they were used either as weapons or in a ceremonial capacity.

But perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the find is that two of the axes were produced from the same mould as six axes found in Skelmore Heads at Urswick in 1902.

Thrilled north-west finds liaison officer Dot Boughton said the significance of the hoard could not be underestimated.

She said she could scarcely believe it when they were brought in and she realised the new artefacts were linked to those from Skelmore Heads.

“These finds are just as rare as Viking finds in the area,” she said. “Unfortunately, only two of the six Skelmore Heads axes are still around – one is in the Dock Museum and the other in Coniston, but the other four are lost.

“When the finder came in with these axes I nearly keeled over. It’s a really nice connection for them to be made by the same hands, in the same mould.”

The discovery is the latest in a long line of finds in recent times that have added greatly to our understanding of the Furness area and its history.

This year has already seen a 92-coin Viking hoard and a crozier and ring found in the tomb of a monk at Furness Abbey go on display to the public.

The museum’s collections manager Sabine Skae said the axes were a terrific addition to the collection and would take pride of place in an upcoming exhibition.

“I’m planning to put them on display in the new archaeology gallery that’s going to open at the beginning of November,” she said. “The finder and the landowner have agreed not to claim a reward and they want to donate the axes for free to the museum.”

First published at 13:10, Sunday, 16 September 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk