Drumabest Horn on Royal Mail stamp

Ballymoney Museum has on permanent display one of the four Bronze Age Drumabest Horns. Pictures thanks to Ballymoney Museum

The four Drumabest Horns were found in 1840 outside Kilraughts. One can be found in the Town Hall museum, where it is on loan from the Yorkshire Museums Trust.

The horns are thought to be over 2500 years old.

Issued last Tuesday (January 17), the stamp, worth £1.33, is part of the Ancient Britain Commemorative 2017 collection and is entitled Drumbest Horns, County Antrim, Northern Ireland c800 BC.

Helen Perry, Museum Services Development Manager explained: “This particular one we have here in our Museum is on loan from Yorkshire Museums Trust (Yorkshire Museum). Such precious objects may have been buried as part of a ritual or may have been hidden with the intention to come back later...and never did. You can find out more about the Bronze Age in Ballymoney Museum and see for yourself this extraordinary piece.

“You can also discover more about the Bronze Age across the Causeway area in Limavady Museum Roe Valley Arts and Heritage Centre from February 1 when our new temporary exhibition Metals, Wealth and War opens.”

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Alderman Maura Hickey, added: “The fact that Royal Mail has chosen to feature the Drumabest Horns in this new collection highlights how important they are. They provide a glimpse into the history of our Borough. I would encourage everyone to visit the Museum to see one of the horns for themselves. The material and information in our Museums is a great way of enhancing our understanding of how our ancestors lived.”

The other three horns in the set can be found in the Ulster Museum and the National Museum of Ireland.

You can also discover more about the Bronze Age across the area at a new temporary exhibition opening in Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre from February 1st.

Entitled Metals, Wealth and War, it features many of the great archaeological discoveries from this region.

For further information please contact Museum Services on 028 7034 7234 or email [email protected]

For information contact Museum Services on 028 7034 7234 or email [email protected]