Yesterday Curator James Sainsbury was kind enough to show me the small biface currently on display in Worthing Museum. The story of it's discovery, found on the beach at Shoreham-by-Sea by then six year old Ben Witten, has travelled the world. 🧵 1/3 #FlintFriday #FindsFriday - ThreadSky

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mattpope.bsky.social • 48 days ago

Yesterday Curator James Sainsbury was kind enough to show me the small biface currently on display in Worthing Museum. The story of it's discovery, found on the beach at Shoreham-by-Sea by then six year old Ben Witten, has travelled the world. 🧵 1/3
#FlintFriday
#FindsFriday

Comments

mattpope.bsky.social•48 days ago

The tool is in great condition, it's almost fresh, just polished and lightly patinated. In terms of shape, technology and condition entirely aligned with Late Middle Palaeolithic cultures present in Southern Britain around 60,000 to 40,000 years ago. 2/3

staphylea.bsky.social•48 days ago

Can you tell the age of the knapping and rule out something produced later? Thanks

mattpope.bsky.social•48 days ago

We only encounter artefacts with this surface condition from the Pleistocene and no tool of this shape and technology has been found in the European Upper Palaeolithic, say 45k to 11k years ago. So it cant be anything more recent and it would be unique if it was a UP handaxe of this shape.

staphylea.bsky.social•48 days ago

I think 'fresh' made me think, how do you know it cannot be a hoax given that it wasn't found in its original context? I'm not suggesting for a moment that it might be and perhaps 'surface condition' answers that.

mattpope.bsky.social•48 days ago

It probably came from offshore, dredgedfrom terrestrial deposits now submerged under the sea before being dumped on the beach as part of coastal protection works. On both sides of the sea, artefacts & fauna from La Mancheland & Doggerland have been found on beaches replenished like this. 3/3