As Old As They Come

Frank Bradford, the Orkney photographer, has sent in this picture of what could be a Palaeolithic hand-axe. An archaeologist investigating the find has commented, 'These are very rare in Scotland. We understand that these axes date to the Ice Age. However, this continued for a very long time, and it is hard to tell to which specific period this axe belongs. How it reached Orkney is another problem. It was found on the shore near Kirkwall, and it is just possible that it was an import with ballast. We hope to visit the 'find spot' to check out whether other flint nodules present may have come in as ballast. If not, then we have a real mystery on our hands. The axe could prove to be the Orkney Islands' oldest artifact, possibly dating back 100,000 - 450,000 years.'

Scottish Islands Explorer - over eleven years old