Dog walker finds 3,000-year-old axe in Forest of Dean

A dog walker named John found an ancient axe head while walking in the Forest of Dean in western Gloucestershire, England.

The axe lay among the roots of a fallen tree near Brierley. John reported the find to Forestry England, the government agency that manages the woodland.

Forestry England handed the object to conservators for recording and study. Kayleigh Spring, an objects conservator at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, identified it as a palstave axe from the Middle Bronze Age.

The axe dates to roughly 1500–1200 B.C. and is made of copper alloy, most likely bronze. Spring said it was cast in a two-part mold, a technique that allowed more detailed designs than earlier single-piece stone molds.

After testing negative for chloride ions, conservators removed soil and corrosion under magnification and coated the blade with Incralac to protect it from further damage.

The axe has been transferred to the Dean Heritage Centre in Soudley, Gloucestershire. Leoni Dawson, a community ranger for Forestry England, said the discovery helps connect people today with those who lived and worked in the area thousands of years ago.

A Forestry England spokesperson noted that such finds, while uncommon, occur from time to time in the ancient forest.