A STONE AGE axe head that could date back more than 200,000 years has been discovered on a beach near Clacton.
Neighbours Mary Gilbert and Rodney Lee found the hand-sized tool in shingle near the low tide mark at Holland Haven.
Amateur archaeologist Rodney, 82, described it as the “discovery of a lifetime”.
He said: “It is a beautiful Stone Age axe head in pristine condition.
“We were just looking along the shore because I was curious to see what was there and Mary said ‘Look, there’s something’.
“It was the find of a lifetime.”
Rodney said the prehistoric tool was in such good condition, it could not have been on the beach for long because it would have been worn smooth by pebbles.
Clacton has a rich Stone Age heritage and even gives its name to primitive Clactonian tools, made by striking flakes from a piece of flint thousands of years ago.
Former insurance man Rodney, of Knox Road, Clacton, learned about them decades ago when a famous archaeological dig was carried out at Clacton golf course.
He was taught by leading expert Dr John Wymer.
Read the full story in the Clacton Gazette.
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