While right now, we aren’t sure why such large tools were being made, or which species of early human were making them, this site offers a chance to answer these exciting questions.” “Perhaps they fulfilled a less practical or more symbolic function than other tools, a clear demonstration of strength and skill. These handaxes are so big it’s difficult to imagine how they could have been easily held and used. “Giant handaxes like this are usually found in the Thames and Medway regions and date from over 300,000 years ago. The biggest, a colossal 29.5cm in length, is one of the longest ever found in Britain. Letty Ingrey, a senior geo-archaeologist at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, said: “We describe these tools as ‘giants’ when they are over 22cm long and we have two in this size range. The two largest handaxes found at the site have a distinctive shape with a long, finely worked, pointed tip and a much thicker base. It is believed this type of tool was usually held in the hand and may have been used for butchering animals and cutting meat. Handaxes are stone artefacts that have been chipped, or knapped, on both sides to produce a symmetrical shape with a long cutting edge. Two large flint knives described as giant handaxes were among the discoveries.
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