Boy finds Neanderthal hand axe on Shoreham beach

Ben Witten, nine, was six when he discovered an “interesting stone” on Shoreham Beach.

Three years later, Ben was looking at the Stone Age collection while on a visit to Worthing Museum with his mum Emma when they struck up conversation with curator of archaeology James Sainsbury.

Ben with James Sainsbury, curator of archaeology at Worthing Museum (Image: Submitted) Later Emma, who lives in Shoreham, sent James some photos of the “interesting stone”, which James instantly recognised to be a palaeolithic hand axe.

James said: “When I saw the email saying beach find, I thought here’s another pebble. But as soon as I saw the photo, I knew straightaway.

“Very, very few of these are found in Sussex – we have two of these out of a collection of 30,000 tools. The vast majority of archaeologists would never come across one – Ben noticing one on the beach aged six is the incredible part of the story.”

The hand axe is estimated to be somewhere between 40-60,000 years old and would have been used by “neanderthal hands” to break open the bone marrow of woolly rhinos.

It is made from flint and is bifacial, which means it is the same on both sides. It shows “very little sign of wear” according to James.

The hand axe shows very little sign of wear, other than that caused by its original use (Image: Submitted) Mum Emma said: “It has caused quite a stir in the Sussex archaeology scene. They say it is the best thing they’ve handed in by the public in ten years. James said it is a once in a lifetime find.”

Ben, who goes to Buckingham Park Primary School, in Shoreham, loves crystals and rocks and is interested in archaeology. He said he is “really excited” by his discovery.

He said: “There were loads of pebbles and it was the odd one out. It was all carved and shaped. In year two we had been learning about the Stone Age and so I picked it up to show my mum.

“It gives me a lot of hope and excitement.”

James and other archaeologists do not yet know whether the axe would have been dropped on the beach as part of shingle dredged from the seabed to help defend the shore from erosion, or if it was found where it was originally lost by a neanderthal person.

James said: “The sea would have been further away than it is now, but we don’t know exactly what the Sussex coast looked like back then.”

The hand axe is on display until February 2025 (Image: Submitted) It is less likely the axe was washed up from the sea during a storm, as it would be more worn and broken.

The axe is on display at Worthing Museum until February, when it will be returned to Ben and his family.

James said: “It’s an incredible find and generous of Ben to lend it to us. Hopefully it will spark a lifetime interest in archaeology.”