A pine tree farmer in Denmark was set to plant a new crop when Christmas came early: His brother-in-law discovered a pair of 3,600-year-old axes while surveying one of his fields. Archaeologists who rushed to the scene found three more.
Dating from 1600 BCE, they are twice as large as similar weapons discovered, archaeologist Constanze Rassmann says. Each axe head contains about two pounds of pure metal and is 12 inches across. Rassman suspects they were meant as an offering to the gods.
The discovery is also incredibly rare. Only five such axes have been found to date in all of Northern Europe, Rassmann told Danish TV, "and then we go and [find] five more in one go."
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