23 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

First Human Traces Buried in an Ancient Gold Mine in Eastern Sahara

Some of the earliest signs of human life dating back 1.8 million years have been discovered in an old gold mine in the Eastern Sahara.

Archaeologists from the University of Wrocław came across a horde of tools belonging to the African variety of Homo erectus, the precursor of humans (Homo sapiens), some 70 kilometers east of Atbara.

Among the hundreds of artifacts were huge, almond-shaped cleavers that resembled fists, weighed several kilograms, and had chipped edges on both sides that formed a rounded tip at the junction.

“In the eastern part of Sudan, in the Eastern Desert, like in many places in the Sahara, a gold rush broke out. People were looking for this valuable ore in makeshift, open-cast mines. While exposing subsequent layers, miners came across several-hundred-thousand-year-old tools.”

Archaeologists were able to assess the age of the instruments by analyzing layers of soil and sand above the artifacts using the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique.

Research project leader Professor Mirosław Masojć from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Wrocław said: “It turned out that they were about 390,000 years old. This means that the layers below are certainly older. Based on the workmanship, I believe that the tools may be over 700,000 years old, perhaps even a million years old, like their counterparts discovered further in the south of Africa.”

© Fot.M.Masojć
© Fot.M.Masojć

Professor Masojć team had previously found hand axes and other instruments, but never ones that were physically so similar to or as ancient as those from equatorial Africa.

Since all finished ‘products’ and flakes produced during their processing have been preserved, it is now believed that the site where the artifacts were found once housed a workshop where tools were made.

Masojć added that these are the oldest known human creations with such a well-confirmed chronology from Egypt and Sudan. He said: “Ancient tools are found in deserts, but never before have they come from layers that would allow to safely determine their age.”

Nearly 200 sites where Palaeolithic stone items have been preserved have been discovered thus far by researchers. Some are trapped in tunnels (these are located about 350 km north of Khartoum). Both Homo erectus and Homo sapiens used a variety of methods, according to the researchers. The tools’ ages range from over half a million to 60,000 years old.

Masojć said that it is possible that even older artifacts exist in the mines’ deeper levels, but that reaching them is currently difficult.

Researchers from Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Germany, and the US were involved in the project financed by the National Science Centre. The research results have just been published in the prestigious journal Plos One (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248279). Detailed information about the project can be found at: http://sudan.archeo.uni.wroc.pl/ (PAP).

Source: Science in Poland

Related Articles

Offerings to goddess Demeter uncovered in archaic temple on Crete island, Greek

17 November 2022

17 November 2022

Nestled between two mountain peaks overlooking the harbor, excavations in the ancient city of Phalasarna revealed hundreds of offerings to...

A Baptismal Surprise: Triton Baths in Southeastern Rome Converted into Early Christian Church

7 May 2025

7 May 2025

Recent archaeological excavations within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette Bassi, situated in the southeastern outskirts of Rome,...

A 4000-year-old Fabric Found in a Cave of Skulls in the Judean Desert is the Oldest Dyed with Insect Dye

15 July 2024

15 July 2024

Researchers discovered an ancient textile dyed with kermes (Kermes vermilio) in Israel’s Cave of Skulls that dates back to the...

To The West of Turkey Ancient Quarry Found

28 March 2021

28 March 2021

Turkey is very lucky in terms of ancient settlements. It is home to many unexplored artifacts, along with well-preserved ancient...

The earliest Buddha statues in China found in northwestern Shaanxi

10 December 2021

10 December 2021

The two copper-tin-lead alloy Buddha statues discovered in northwestern Shaanxi Province became the earliest Buddha statues of this kind unearthed...

Tombs of Queens of Commagene Detected

23 September 2021

23 September 2021

The graves built by Commagene King Mithritades II (36-21 BC) for his mother Isias, his sister Antiokhis, and Antiochis’s daughter...

1,500-year-old feast mosaic found in Turkey

2 February 2022

2 February 2022

A 50-square-meter mosaic depicting an open-air feast dating back 1,500 years ago was unearthed during excavations in the ancient city...

12,000-year-old ‘public building’ unearthed in southeastern Turkey’s Mardin

27 September 2022

27 September 2022

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a “public building” thought to be 12,000 years old at Boncuklu Tarla in the...

Dog Kajtuś uncovers Poland’s biggest treasure of the past 100 years

21 April 2022

21 April 2022

A dog named Kajtuś discovered the biggest treasure found in Poland in the last 100 years. The treasure was found...

Remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven were discovered in the ancient city of Troy

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

Remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven were found in the ancient city of Troy, located in the Tevfikiye district of Çanakkale...

7500-year-old idol of Goddess Asherah located in Israel

22 May 2022

22 May 2022

Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Israel have discovered an idol they believe belongs to the goddess Ashera at a...

Archeologists in Peru find a 1,000-year-old adolescent mummy wrapped in bundle

25 April 2023

25 April 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 1,000-year-old mummy on the outskirts of Peru’s capital, Lima. The mummified adolescent was wrapped...

Archaeologists discover medieval a tableman gaming piece in Bedfordshire, England

26 April 2023

26 April 2023

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire, England, have made an intriguing discovery: a tableman gaming piece was discovered at a medieval site. Cotswold...

8,000-year-old Cave paintings found in Türkiye’s İnkaya Cave depict life and death

10 September 2023

10 September 2023

A number of cave paintings dating back some 8,000 years have been found in İnkaya cave in the Marmara province...

Oldest Fortresses in the World Discovered in Siberia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin together with an international team have uncovered fortified prehistoric settlements in a remote region of...