Ready for the Production of 48 Limited Edition Pieces of Heartland Daggers as Gifts for Workers and Supporters of the Phoenicia

David Lefgren has finished the next steps in the production of Heartland Daggers according to the pattern of the ancient artifact that came from the bottom of a clear lake in Upper Michigan.

We are now ready to make four dozen Heartland Daggers to be used as gifts for workers who will help with the reconstruction of the Phoenicia in Montrose, Iowa.

The ancient copper blades are polished. The handles are fixed to the castings. They are made of black walnut and have blood stone agates on their ends.

The castings of replicas from the original artifact are placed in the top lids of the cedar boxes. The finished daggers are placed inside the wood box on a sheep fleece. The sweet aroma of the cedar box surrounds the whole presentation.

Anciently the dagger was a sign of position and power. Originally we thought that the Heartland Dagger was only designed as a weapon of war. We now think that it may have had a role in lamb sacrifices required by the Law of Moses.

Some years ago, Scot Mitchin, with his scuba diving equipment and a metal detector, found from the bottom of Lake Gogebic in Michigan the remains of the original artifact.

Scot is a vocational archeologist who has devoted much of his life to discovering ancient artifacts in the waters that are part of the Great Lakes. He has found hundreds of copper artifacts with his metal detector in this effort.

Wayne May bought the copper artifact and now owns the original Heartland Dagger.

There is a striking similarity between the Heartland Dagger to the King Tut Dagger that is on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. We believe that the connection between the two artifacts confirms the vital exchange between the Phoenicians and Egyptians 2,600 years ago.

In ancient times the Phoenicians were freight haulers. They contracted with the Egyptians to move grain from the fertile valleys of the Nile and to bring metal from foreign lands to the Egyptians for their cities and armies. The Phoenicians transported freight on the high seas with the most advanced technology of their times.