Ross Island is a claw-shaped peninsula in Killarney National Park, County Kerry. Ross Castle is located here and it is also the site of abandoned copper mines, including some believed to be the earliest in north-western Europe. Copper extraction on the site is believed to be the source of the first known Irish Pre-Bronze Age metalwork, namely copper axe heads, halberds and knife/dagger blades dating from 2,400 - 2,200 BC. These finds have been distributed throughout Ireland and in the West of Britain - in South Britain the metalwork was imported from across the English Channel.