Giant stone artefacts found on rare Ice Age site in Kent

Researchers successful Kent person unearthed immoderate of the largest aboriginal prehistoric chromatic tools ever recovered successful Britain.

Excavations revealed artefacts successful heavy Ice Age sediments preserved connected a hillside supra the Medway Valley.

A full of 800 artefacts, thought to beryllium much than 300,000 years aged and buried successful worldly which filled a sinkhole and past stream transmission were discovered.

Senior archaeologist Letty Ingrey said the find included a footlong manus axe astir excessively large to beryllium handled.

Ms Ingrey, of UCL Institute of Archaeology, said: "We picture these tools arsenic giants erstwhile they are implicit 22cm long, and we person 2 successful this size range.

"The biggest, a colossal 29.5cm successful length, is 1 of the longest ever recovered successful Britain.

"These manus axes are truthful large it's hard to ideate however they could person been easy held and used."

She speculated that the tools mightiness person fulfilled a little applicable oregon much symbolic function.

"Right now, we aren't definite wherefore specified ample tools were being made, oregon which taxon of aboriginal quality were making them," she added.

"This tract offers a accidental to reply these breathtaking questions."

The excavation tract is thought to day to a play successful the aboriginal prehistory of Britain erstwhile Neanderthal radical and their cultures were opening to look and whitethorn adjacent person shared the scenery with different aboriginal quality species.

At this time, the Medway Valley would person been a chaotic scenery of wooded hills and stream valleys, the researchers said.

It would person been inhabited by reddish cervid and horses, arsenic good arsenic little acquainted mammals, specified arsenic the now-extinct straight-tusked elephant and lion.

Dr Matt Pope, of UCL Institute of Archaeology, said: "The excavations astatine the Maritime Academy person fixed america an incredibly invaluable accidental to survey however an full Ice Age scenery developed implicit a 4th of a cardinal years ago."

The squad besides made a 2nd important find astatine the tract - a Roman cemetery, dating to astatine slightest a 4th of a cardinal years aboriginal than the Ice Age activity.