This small pointed hand-axe comes from the Leyton area. It is over 300,000
years old.
One axe of many
Thousands of these ancient tools have been found across London. Many lay
in the riverbeds of the ancient Thames and its tributaries. This
particular hand-axe is made of a distinctive banded flint, which may have
had special value or significance to its maker or owner.
See the axe
The hand-axe is currently on display in the Museum of London's London
before London gallery. The gallery describes what London was like for
thousands of years before the Romans arrived.
