50 Stone Age Finds: From the Portable Antiquities Scheme

Flint and stone finds hold a unique place in the archaeological record, as they are often all that survives from much of the human past. The Stone Age did not end with the introduction of metal, and some of the finest lithic objects date from the Bronze Age. The use of flint and stone has even continued into more recent times.

These objects can possess a striking, almost gem-like quality. Flint hand axes more than 500,000 years old, recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme, display a symm...