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_900x900.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
_200x200.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
_900x900.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
_200x200.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
.jpg "Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area")
LOT 0329
Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area
PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 600,000 B.P.
6 7/8 in. (773 grams, 16.1 cm).
Handaxe of Wymer's type D, slightly buff patinated rolled flint.
ProvenanceFound by Mr P. Macro in the Parish of Walcott (via GPS location), which is directly next to the Parish of Happisburgh, where this stretch of beach adjoins.
The discovery was made in 2019 after the ‘Beast from the East’ storm, which stripped the beach of the sand and helped to erode the Palaeolithic artefacts from the ancient Thames river bed.
During the time the artefacts were dropped, the Thames ran through North Norfolk and what is now Happisburgh before it was pushed down to its current position in London via the Ice Age glacial melts.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.NMS-8D526A.
The site of Happisburgh in Norfolk has helped to push the history of inhabitation of the British Isles back by 200,000, making it a site of special importance.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0329
Very Large British Museum Recorded Palaeolithic Handaxe from the Happisburgh Area
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
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African Stone Age Homo Habilis Oldowan Stone Chopper
Oldowan Period, circa 2,600,000-1,700,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Lentoid in section and an irregular rectangle in plan with a smoothed handgrip to the rear; old faded collector's label. 490 grams, 12.7 cm
From the Sahara. Ex old German collection formed in the 1970s. Purchased on the European art market.
Oldowan tools are the oldest known stone tool industry, dating from approximately 2.6 to 1.7 million years ago (with some evidence at 2.9 Ma). Primarily associated with Homo habilis, these simple tools (choppers, flakes, hammerstones) were used for cutting, scraping, and butchering. They were largely found in East Africa, with key sites at Olduvai Gorge. Made from quartzite with minimal removals to form a direct chopping edge. -
African Stone Age Homo Erectus Knapped Quartzite Handaxe
Palaeolithic Period, circa 1,000,000-500,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Knapped from translucent quartzite, weathered over hundreds of thousands of years' exposure; from the Wadi Talia, Queen area. 268 grams, 12.3 cm.
Ex old German collection formed in the 1970s. Acquired on the European art market. -
Stone Age Acheulean Knapped Flint Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic, circa 700,000-300,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Ovate in profile with broad base; inked legend to cortex at base 'Longeuil Ste Marie / Oise et [...]'; point absent. 540 grams, 14.5 cm
Longueil, Seine-Maritime, Oise. Collection of Jean-Claude Debenne (1936-2020), formed between the 1950s and 1990s. Accompanied by an original French Ministry of Culture export certificate no.CBC 242901.
