Gray's Inn Lane Hand Axe

Gray's Inn Lane Hand Axe
Pointed flint hand axe from Gray's Inn Lane, London
Size165 mm (6 in) long
Created350,000 years ago
DiscoveredGray's Inn Lane, London
Present locationBritish Museum, London
Gray's Inn Lane Hand Axe is located in Greater London
Gray's Inn Lane
Gray's Inn Lane
Map showing the location of Gray's Inn Lane within London

The Gray's Inn Lane Hand Axe is a pointed flint hand axe, found buried in gravel under Gray's Inn Lane, London, England, by pioneering archaeologist John Conyers in 1679, and now in the British Museum.[1] The hand axe is a fine example from about 350,000 years ago, in the Lower Paleolithic period, but its main significance lies in the role it and the circumstances of its excavation played in the emerging understanding of early human history.

  1. ^ British Museum (2011). "British Museum – Pointed flint handaxe". britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 14 October 2011. Gray's Inn Road, London, England This flint handaxe was found in gravel near the bones of an elephant by John Conyers in 1679.