Finder of 4,000-year-old dagger in Croft reunited with it decades on

Alan Glover, now aged 76, discovered the historic artifact in a field near Kenyon Hall Farm in Croft when he was just a young boy, back in 1961.

Aged 13 at the time, he lived nearby the farm and had been ‘spud picking’ in the field for the farmer to earn some spending money when the unique weapon caught his eye.

Alan’s grandson, Nathan Goldsmith, spoke to the Warrington Guardian about the exciting opportunity that presented itself, where his grandad was able to see and hold the dagger after so many years have passed.

“He was walking and saw it stuck out of the ground. He took it into school to do a show and tell,” Nathan said.

“Shortly after he had an accident. He and his friends were messing with fireworks and one went off in his pocket, so he ended up with burns and was off school for a while.”

Nathan, 26, said by the time Alan had returned to school, it had handed the artifact over to the Museum of Liverpool and he never saw his unique find again.

At the time it was found, members of the University of Manchester organised a dig in the area of Croft to see if they could uncover any more artifacts.

The dagger is estimated to be between 3,500 and 4,000 years old, and it now lives on display in The Pilotage Building at Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool.

Nathan got in contact with the museum recently, after seeing a vague description on the display of the dagger with little information of where it was initially found.

Colin (left) and Alan (right) are pictured with the ancient artifacts they discovered around Warrington (Image: Supplied)

“I arranged for him to go down and do a talk on how he found it to the curators at the museum,” Nathan said.

“He used to sharpen his pencils on it in school. He has always had a picture of it in his house.”

In an unforgettable day, Alan, Nathan and the whole family headed down to Liverpool to witness the talk and see the special moment when Alan was able to hold the dagger once again.

“They said that the dagger my grandad found by Kenyon Hall Farm was a significant part of history for hunter gatherers,” he added.

“Grandad was made up. He said he did not think he would be able to see it again.”

The 4000-year-old dagger was found in the fields of Kenyan Hall Farm (Image: Supplied)

Coincidentally, Alan’s cousin Colin Glover also found a distinct artifact in Culcheth during his childhood.

Colin found the head of an arrow in Culcheth Linear Park, and the same museum in Liverpool requested he bring it on this visit to put on display as well.

Alan and Colin were pictured with their cherished artifacts last Friday at the museum before leaving their finds for others to enjoy in future visits.