A Neolithic stone axehead was among the rare artefacts unearthed during a busy year for Scottish treasure hunters. It forms part of Scotland's annual Treasure Trove, items found by archaeologists or enthusiasts which have been handed to the Crown Office. Other items include two late Bronze Age spearheads from Cademuir Hill in the Scottish Borders. The Crown Office has a duty to receive all unclaimed lost and abandoned items. The Treasure Trove panel decides where each item should be placed and how much reward money should be received by the treasure hunters.
     The items found between April 2008 and March 2009 were included in the annual report of the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer Norman McFadyen, who said it had been an "exceptionally busy year." The panel considered 177 cases last year. They included a Neolithic stone axehead made from Cumbrian stone but found in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway. The report said the discovery of the axehead far from Cumbria indicated there was a network of long-distance contacts in prehistoric societies.

Source: BBC News (14 August 2009)