Boy, 9, finds 60,000-year-old Neanderthal hand axe

A nine-year-old boy from West Sussex, England, made a remarkable historical discovery that is now being exhibited at Worthing Museum. Three years ago, when he was just six years old, the boy was playing on Shoreham Beach when he found a shiny flint stone that looked different from other pebbles and stones. Unaware of its significance, he took the object home and kept it in his room for three years.

Recently, during a visit to the Stone Age exhibition at Worthing Museum, the boy noticed that the objects on display resembled the stone he had at home. Realizing it might be more than just a rock, he decided to take it to the museum. According to NTV, a spokesperson from Worthing Museum stated that the axe the boy found is "almost certainly made by a Neanderthal" and dates back to the Late Middle Palaeolithic era, approximately 40,000 to 60,000 years ago.

James Sainsbury told Fox News Digital, "We regularly have visitors bring in their finds from the local area. Mostly these are other flint tools or Roman artifacts, but this is by far the oldest item shown to myself in 10-plus years."

"Neanderthal hand axes are rare in Sussex. This is the first to be found in years," making the discovery "doubly special," he also noted.

The axe is now on display at Worthing Museum, which offers free entry to guests. The boy has lent the artifact to the museum for exhibition until February, when it will be returned to him. "I wanted to keep it, but I thought it would be better for it to stay there than for me to have it." He expressed his excitement about the find, saying, "They told me it's their best find in the last ten years. Now it's in the museum's display case. I was very excited, my heart was beating very fast," he said.

Neanderthals, who are among the closest relatives of modern humans, became extinct about 40,000 years ago for reasons that are still unknown. The discovery of the hand axe brings to light an important piece of Neanderthal history.

James Sainsbury told Fox News Digital, "Ben has loaned us the axe until next February when it will be returned to him." 

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq