The head, along with additional fragments, were found by metal detectorist Tyndall Jones, who owns David O Jones sports shop in Littlehampton's High Street.

"I think that things like this belong to the public," said Tyndall, who found the pieces in the Arundel area.

"So it was an easy decision to give the head and fragments to the museum, every one should be able to see them."

The museum has had the items since the beginning of the year, and has been working to cure them of bronze disease, caused by the moistness of the earth they were buried in.

Curator Juliet Nye said: "It's so nice to be able to put it on display. Bronze disease makes the material brittle, and the pieces were starting to flake. If we had put them in with the rest of the collection, the disease could have spread to them.

"They were treated by being dipped in a chemical compound. If we hadn't, they would have deteriorated into dust, eventually. "
Tyndall described the moment he found the axe as "amazing".

"I was very, very excited about it, I brought it to the museum the next day. It really is not a common item to find."

Juliet added that it was a fantastic addition to the museum's current bronze age collection, and thanked Tyndall for his donation, which is now on display.

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