With square butt and rounded edge, mottled coloration. 33.7 grams, 69 mm



Found Sahara desert of North Africa. Ex Arthur Halcrow Versage collection, Reigate, Surrey, UK. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Tongue-shaped in profile and plano-convex in section with pointed butt; old collector's label 'Keith Hall 1898' with 'Keith in a second, later hand above. 376 grams, 12.4 cm (436 grams total, 15 cm including stand)



Found at Keith Hall, Farnham, in 1898. From the collection of Captain Streatfield who helped to fund the archaeology excavations at Farnham, Kent. After Captain Streatfield passed away in the 1940s, his collection was sold at auction.

Lentoid in section and ovate in plan, with narrow rounded butt. 42 grams, 85 mm



Found Suffolk, UK, 1980s.

With round-section shank and tapering butt, broad cutting edge chipped. 720 grams, 17.5 cm



From South Central Sahara. Ex private French collection, formed 1960s-1970s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Formed from a thick, keeled flake and trimmed at the edges; with inked collection number: 'SN. 1170.A / 2. TWYDALL'. 275 grams, 10 cm



Found Twydall, Kent, UK. Richard Jones collection, Welling, Kent, UK, 1912-1915. Ex Rochester Museum, Kent collections. Specialist collection of J Edwin Jarvis. Ex Martin Schoyen collection, London, UK. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

These tools were part of the collection that was originally donated by a Mr Richard Jones of Welling in Kent to the Rochester Museum. During the period 1912-1915. Mr George Payne of the Kent Archaeological Society also collected along with a Mr George Baker. During 1902 'Sharpes Green Cement Works' was erected, then the smallest cement works on record, using second hand equipment and the last to use Static Chamber Kilns. The processing site was situated on the south shore of the river Medway near Gillingham, Kent, on an island known locally as "Horrid Hill" just off the shore. Horrid Hill was so named because French prisoners of the Napoleonic war who attempted to escape the 'Hulks' moored on the river were hanged here for their efforts. The raw material for the manufacture of cement was extracted from a local quarry in orchard grounds belonging to a Mr Walter Stunt of Lorenden, Faversham, Kent at a place called Twydall between Chatham and Upchurch. During the removal of the chalk an infilled cavity was broken into on the eastern face of the quarry, which contained very rich lower Palaeolithic material. To facilitate the removal of the extracted chalk from the quarry to the works on the river a trackway was constructed to allow a small horse drawn railway to carry wagon loads of chalk for processing. To transport the loads over the tidal saltmarsh from river bank to the island a causeway was built above the upper tidal limit to the works. The material used was the gravel extracted at the quarry which was useless for the manufacture of cement and which contained the implements. The subsequent erosion caused by the tidal flow of the river exposed the Palaeolithic implements along the stretch of the causeway and, during the period of 1912 to 1915, were collected from the surface. The majority of the material is made up of flakes and cores typical of the 'Clactonian' style with also some Acheulian axes. The implements are well retouched and worked on thick, heavy flakes with high angle platforms, typical of the 'Clactonian' industry. The tools are made from the same marbled north Kent flint which was used at the Swanscombe Palaeolithic site from the ancient lower gravels of the Thames valley. This flint is typically a brown and yellow banded variety derived from the dark green skinned nodules of the "Bull Head" bed which underlies the Thanet sands.

Biconvex in section with broad cutting edge. 55 grams, 49 mm



Found Farnham, Kent, in 1901. From the collection of Captain Streatfield who helped to fund the archaeology excavations at Farnham, Kent. After Captain Streatfield passed away in the 1940s, his collection was sold at auction.

With narrow pointed butt, chamfered edge. 43 grams, 64 mm



Found Isle of Zealand, Denmark. Formerly acquired in the late 1950s. From the family collection of a South East London collector. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Mounted on a board in a square wooden frame with old collector's label 'Henouville 1951 MA'. 222 grams total, 19.6 x 19.5 cm including frame



Found Henouville, France, in 1951, by a Mr M A. From an old collection. Acquired on the European art market. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, specialist collector.

Three circular grinding stones, one nearly spherical, the other two spherical with a flat side. 505 grams total, 42-58 mm



From the private family collection of a lady, UK; acquired in Germany mid 20th century.

Artefacts made using grinding tools included shovel-like tools, stone axes, bracelets, and chisels. Because these tools were ground, they required considerable time to be done. In Europe, grinding tools are closely linked to the Neolithic Age, while Levantine grinding tools only appeared during the Mesolithic Period II (Natufian culture).

Including lanceolate and other types. 9.12 grams total, 26-56 mm



Found Sahara desert of North Africa. Ex Arthur Halcrow Versage collection, Reigate, Surrey, UK. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

With pinched facial features, stub arms and conjoined legs; vertical linear detailing for the robe, vertical lines to the back for hair. 79 grams, 11 cm

Fine condition.

From the Wedemeyer collection; acquired in the 1970s. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.

Bore triangular in section with square butt, scraper with broad edge. 109 grams total, 72-78 mm



Found Department Indre et Loire, Epargne, Grand Pressigny, South West France. Collected in the 1930s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collector. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.