Oldbury rock shelters

Oldbury rock shelters
The southern rock shelter
Oldbury rock shelters
Oldbury rock shelters
location in Kent
LocationOldbury hillfort near Ightham
RegionKent
Coordinates51°17′9.8″N 0°16′9.6″E / 51.286056°N 0.269333°E / 51.286056; 0.269333
History
PeriodsMiddle Palaeolithic
CulturesMousterian

The Oldbury rock shelters are a complex of Middle Palaeolithic sites situated on the slopes of Oldbury hillfort near Ightham in the English county of Kent.[1]

They were occupied by Mousterian flint tool manufacturers around 50,000 years ago and examples of their characteristic bout-coupé handaxes were found there during excavations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.[2]

The interior of the southern rock shelter

The site is open to the public and owned by the National Trust.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Archaeological Sites Kent". Historic-Kent.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Iron Age". Here's History Kent. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Oldbury Hill - National Trust". Freedom 2 Expolre. Retrieved 26 August 2015.