3,000-year-old Bronze Age hoard returns home to Ness

It comes after a long period of negotiation between Comunn Eachdraidh Nis and the National Museums of Scotland, where the hoard is permanently housed, and they will be on display from the 18th Apri.

In 1910, an eclectic mix of objects was found in peat near the village of Adabrock, containing bronze axeheads, a spearhead, three razors and other tools, as well as fragments of a decorated vessel, two whetstones and rare beads of glass, amber and gold. It is valuable as one of the most diverse single finds in the whole of Britain.

Twenty years before, in 1891 and 1892, two swords characteristic of the age were found at Aird, Dell, again preserved in peat. One is incomplete, but the other is whole and still sharp, despite 3,000 years in the ground.

The findings were hugely important in helping to better understand the Bronze Age period – and for the first time they will now be on display in the community where they were discovered.

Dr Matthew Knight, Senior Curator of Prehistory at National Museums Scotland, responsible for the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age collections said: "We're delighted to be bringing the Adabrock Hoard and Aird Dell Sword on loan to Comunn Eachdraidh Nis as part of our programme of sharing material on loan from the National Collection across Scotland.

"These Bronze Age objects represent the rich spectrum of life in the Western Isles three thousand years ago, including tools, weapons and gold, amber and glass beads.

"Of significance are fragments of a bronze cup that would have been imported from Continental Europe suggesting widely connected communities. It is a wonderful collection of objects from Bronze Age Lewis and we hope that it attracts many visitors."

Dr Knight will deliver a talk at the official opening, entitled: Burying valuables and valuable burials: The Adabrock Hoard, the Aird Dell Swords and other Bronze Age metalwork from western Scotland.

A CEN spokesperson said: “We are grateful to Museums Galleries Scotland, HIE and Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn for supporting this project and to staff at the National Museum of Scotland for advising and guiding us through the loan process.”