2 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Giant handaxe discovered at Ice Age site in Kent, UK

Researchers in Kent in southeastern England have discovered a prehistoric handaxe so big it would have been almost impossible to wield as a cutting tool. The handaxe is the third largest ever found in Britain.

Excavations also uncovered artifacts preserved in deep Ice Age sediments on a hillside above the Medway Valley. A total of 800 artifacts were discovered, thought to be more than 300,000 years old and buried in material that filled a sinkhole and an ancient river channel.

The researchers, from UCL Archaeology South-East,  unearthed several handaxes, and two of them were giants of a form known as a ficron, characterized by a rounded thick base tapering to a long, finely-worked tip.

One is 22 cm (nine inches) long but missing its tip. The other is 29.5 cm (11.6 inches) long and intact. It is 11.3 cm (4.4 inches) wide at its widest point.

Letty Ingrey, of UCL Institute of Archaeology, said: “We describe these tools as giants when they are over 22cm long, and we have two in this size range.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Some of the artefacts discovered by archaeologists in Kent. Photograph: UCL Archaeology South-East/PA
Some of the artifacts were discovered by archaeologists in Kent. Photograph: UCL Archaeology South-East/PA

“The biggest, a colossal 29.5cm in length, is one of the longest ever found in Britain. These hand axes are so big it’s difficult to imagine how they could have been easily held and used. While right now, we aren’t sure why such large tools were being made, or which species of early human were making them, this site offers a chance to answer these exciting questions.”

The site is thought to date to a period in the early prehistory of Britain when Neanderthal people and their cultures were beginning to emerge and may even have shared the landscape with other early human species.

While archaeological finds of this age, including another spectacular ‘giant’ handaxe, have previously been discovered in the Medway Valley, this is the first time they have been discovered as part of a large-scale excavation, providing new insights into the lives of their makers.

Amongst the unearthed artifacts were two extremely large flint knives described as “giant handaxes”. Handaxes are stone artifacts that have been chipped, or “knapped,” on both sides to produce a symmetrical shape with a long cutting edge.

Photo: UCL Institute of Archaeology

Dr Matt Pope (UCL Institute of Archaeology), said: “The excavations at the Maritime Academy have given us an incredibly valuable opportunity to study how an entire Ice Age landscape developed over a quarter of a million years ago. A programme of scientific analysis, involving specialists from UCL and other UK institutions, will now help us to understand why the site was important to ancient people and how the stone artifacts, including the ‘giant handaxes’ helped them adapt to the challenges of Ice Age environments.”

The research team is now working on identifying and studying the recovered artifacts to better understand who created them and what they were used for.

UCL Institute of Archaeology

Cover Photo: ASE Senior Archaeologist Letty Ingrey inspects the largest handaxe. UCL Institute of Archaeology

Related Articles

La Tène-Era Woman’s Grave Filled with Opulent Bronze Jewelry Unearthed in the Czech Republic

3 September 2025

3 September 2025

Rescue excavations along the planned D7 highway, between the towns of Knovíz and Slaný, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Prague,...

Researchers found similar descriptions in the Book of Revelation and ancient curse tablets

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

A research project headed by Dr. Michael Hölscher of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has uncovered that the book of...

Khufu Boat moved to its New Museum by Smart Vehicle

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

A 4,600-year-old intact wooden boat bearing the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, Khufu, was transported to a new museum about...

Archaeologists unearth first archaeological evidence about Anatolia’s mysterious Kaska community, sworn enemies of the Hittites

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

In the course of the excavations conducted by Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University‘s Department of Archaeology, artifacts from the Late Bronze...

Researchers excavating the burial site along Caleta Vítor Bay in northern Chile found an Inka Tunic or unku

15 February 2023

15 February 2023

A recently published study, co-authored by a research professor at George Washington University, looks at the Inka Empire’s (also known...

As a result of an operation in western Turkey, 4 skulls belonging to the Jivaro tribe of South American origin were seized

14 December 2021

14 December 2021

In the operation held in the Aliağa district of İzmir, 400 historical artifacts belonging to various periods were seized, including...

The Oldest and Most Unique Example of the ‘Etrarchic Embracement Motif’ is on Display for the First Time

19 September 2024

19 September 2024

A relief depicting two Roman emperors’ embrace of Diocletian and Maximian during a ceremonial event, each other welcomes visitors for...

Marble inlay floors found in a Sunken Roman villa in Baia, the Las Vegas of the ancient world

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

Expansion of research activities in the Terme del Lacus area in the sunken Baia park, known as the ‘Las Vegas’...

Rare 6th-Century BCE Wash Basin ‘Louterion’ Discovered in Malta

11 September 2024

11 September 2024

Archaeological investigations, initiated by a proposal to build a 130-meter-long boulder revetment along the shore of Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk to...

2000-year-old quarry discovered in Jerusalem that could be the source of Second temple stones

5 September 2021

5 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old quarry in Har Hotzvim, now an industrial park in Jerusalem. The Israel Antiquities Authority said...

A rare statue of K’awiil, Mayan god of Lighting have uncovered in Mexico

1 May 2023

1 May 2023

In southeastern Mexico, archaeologists uncovered a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail...

New discoveries announced at Sanxingdui Ruins

20 March 2021

20 March 2021

Chinese archaeologists announced on Saturday that some new major discoveries have been made at the legendary Sanxingdui site in southwestern...

Tombs of elite Wari craftsmen found in the royal necropolis in Castillo de Huarmey, Peru

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A group of tombs of elite craftsmen of the Wari culture has been discovered at the archaeological site of Castillo...

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

29 October 2024

29 October 2024

Archaeologists have found a sacred chiton (tunic) in a 2400-year-old royal tomb in the Macedonian city of Vergina in northern...

Horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals

25 March 2024

25 March 2024

Archaeological analysis of a medieval horse cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed the international scale of...