Search results
The Boxgrove Palaeolithic site is an internationally important archaeological site north-east of Boxgrove in West Sussex with findings that date to the Lower Palaeolithic. The oldest human remains in Britain have been discovered on the site, fossils of Homo heidelbergensis dating to 500,000 years ago. [ 2 ]
- Discovery
- The Site
- The Archaeology
- Dating The Site
- Significance
- Where Can I Find This Now?
- Further Reading
In 1982, flint tools and a hominin tibia were discovered in a gravel quarry at Boxgrove, West Sussex. At the time, it was quickly recognized to represented the earliest evidence of human occupation in Britain.
Today the site is on the flat coastal plain, several miles from the sea to the south, and a mile from the low foothills of the South Downs to the north. Half a million years ago however, the site lay at the foot of chalk cliffs 200 metres high, which have since been totally eroded. In this picture (above) showing the quarry section, we see the foot...
The most famous discovery was a tibia (shin bone) from an early person. Both ends have been gnawed off, but it was from a robust individual, very active, and is assigned to the group known as ‘Heidelberg man’. Two teeth were also discovered at the bottom of the channel, at least a metre lower than the tibia. The teeth probably come from the same in...
The presence of the voles on site meant that the so called ‘vole clock’ could be applied to date the site. This is a method by which sites can be tracked and dated against the rapidly evolving vole. Finding a vole gives archaeologists the ability to date sites that are unable to utilise radiocarbon dating due to their significant age. The vole teet...
Although the site is no longer representative of the earliest hominin occupation of Britain – due to the discovery of the Pakefield finds in 2005, which itself was later outdone by the Happisburgh finds in 2013 – the remains of the Homo heidelbergensis do still represent the earliest human remains in Britain. The tibia is also the only postcranial ...
The Homo heidelbergensis tibia and incisors are housed at the Natural History Museum in London and the flint artefacts are housed at the British Museum, also in London.
Find this article interesting? Want to learn more? Discover everything you need to know about archaeology in Britain with Current Archaeology, the UK’s favourite archaeology magazine. A digital subscription to Current Archaeology magazine gives you access to 50 years of the latest ground-breaking archaeological research, at home or on the move, at ...
Aug 12, 2020 · Dr Matthew Pope (UCL Archaeology) discusses new evidence about an extinct human species found at the Boxgrove site, where Britain’s oldest human remains reveal new insights into ancient toolmaking. Boxgrove in Sussex, England, is an iconic, old stone age site.
Boxgrove. Boxgrove is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north east of the city of Chichester. The village is just south of the A285 road which follows the line of the Roman road Stane Street. The Anglican parish has an area of 1,169 ...
Aug 12, 2020 · Boxgrove in Sussex, England, is an iconic, old stone age site. This is where the oldest human remains in Britain have been discovered – fossils of Homo heidelbergensis. Part of an exceptionally...
The small Benedictine priory of Boxgrove in West Sussex was founded in about 1107, originally for just three monks. In a beautiful setting at the foot of the South Downs, the principal remains include a fine two-storey guest house, roofless but standing to its full height at the gable ends.
Aug 12, 2020 · There's nothing quite like Boxgrove elsewhere in Britain: during excavations, archaeologists uncovered hundreds of stone tools, along with animal bones, that dated to 500,000 years ago. They were...
People also ask
How old is Boxgrove?
Where is Boxgrove?
What is the Boxgrove Palaeolithic site?
Why is Boxgrove important?
Did the Boxgrove site reveal new insights about ancient toolmaking?
Is Boxgrove a parish church?
