Westmeath farmer ‘shocked’ after 4,000-year-old axes found on land

A farmer in Killucan was “shocked” to discover that the two 4,000-year-old Bronze Age axe heads that have triggered an international media storm were found on his land.

The axe heads were sent anonymously to the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) in a porridge box at the end of June, with a letter stating they were found in Westmeath using a metal detector.

The NMI described the discovery as “significant” and “exciting” and launched an online appeal for the sender to come forward.

They said the exact location of the find was necessary to understand the axes' use, which could range from “ritualistic to supernatural” reasons.

The unique finding sparked much public interest, with the story being picked up by the likes of the New York Times, the BBC, and RTÉ, among others.

The axe heads were discovered in a silage field at Banagher, Killucan, adjacent to Coralstown.

Landowner Thomas Dunne said he was "shocked" to learn the significant find was made on his land.

“I only found out about it on Wednesday (July 17), after it had already been in the news for a week,” he said.

“I was surprised to say the least when I heard. It’s absolutely mad when you think about it.

“It’s been all over the news in Ireland, it’s even been picked up over in America - it’s gone absolutely everywhere.”

Mr Dunne said the discovery was made by chance.

“I was cutting silage one day and a bit of metal fell off a mower,” he said.

“We started looking for it then because we thought it might go into the silage harvester and break it up.

“So, I got a man in with a metal detector to look for it and that’s how it was found.

“It was in the side of a field underneath a row of huge beech trees; there would have been ancient forts in the land around here.

“I didn’t even know it was found at the time, and he thought it might have been an old horseshoe or something like that, but he sent it off anyway to the museum.”

The farmer has since contacted the NMI and has met with their researchers at the discovery point, which has now been logged and will provide more information as to the axes’ origin.

“They’re horrid happy over this whole discovery,” said Mr Dunne.

“This field is for cutting silage for beef cattle. We’re trying to get them fat this time of year, but it’s not a great year for it. The land has been in our family for the last 40 years; we bought it in 1983 off another farmer who had retired.

“It would make you think what was going on around here over the years, like these [axe heads] are 4,000 years old.”

In a statement, the NMI described how the axe heads were received:

“They were thoughtfully packed in foam cut-outs and cardboard, ensuring their safe arrival,” they said.

“Our experts at the NMI have identified these items as flat axe heads from the Early Bronze Age, a significant archaeological find that offers a glimpse into Ireland’s distant past.”

Local historian Ruth Illingworth said it was an “exciting discovery” for the region.

“As they were from the early Bronze Age, these axe heads would have been seen as very high-tech at the time,” she said.

“They were state of the art, and I think the metal workers who crafted them would have been seen as magicians by others.

“Bronze is an alloy made from copper and tin. The tin was probably sourced from the likes of Cornwall and the copper likely from mines around the ‘copper coastline’ in Waterford, or from around Killarney in Kerry.”

Ms Illingworth suggested the axe heads could have been in the possession of a local “chieftain or king” at the time.

“It’s an amazing, beautiful piece of workmanship,” she said.

“The people who made those axes would have been very much part of the elite because you would have had a class of craftsmen.

“You also have ceremonial axes that are symbols of the elite, which would have been used for ceremonies rather than day-to-day work like cutting trees.”