It’s not so uncommon for a 6-year-old boy on a trip to the beach to become enamored with a uniquely shaped rock. It’s just a little more out of the ordinary for that rock to actually be a Neanderthal ...

A trip to a museum years later showed him that what he really had was likely a Neanderthal hand axe. Experts believe the flint axe was carved between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. It’s not so ...

The museum, which is now exhibiting the axe, said it was "almost certainly made by a Neanderthal" between 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Ben said: “I was looking around and I saw this shiny flint rock.

"Ben found the flint axe in the upper shingle at Shoreham beach, so it is very difficult to say with confidence whether the axe was originally lost there or whether it was dredged up from offshore ...

"The flint axe was the Swiss Army knife of its time. We know from research work that the part of the human brain which enables us to create such a tool is the same part responsible for forming ...

This axe, discovered in 1859, was the first strong evidence that we have been here for much longer. It is thought to be around 400,000 years old and, since then, even older stone tools have been ...

The site, next to a busy motorway at Jaljulia, has revealed hundreds of flint axes and other artefacts. Experts say the area had a stream, vegetation and an abundance of animals - all perfect for ...