Archaeologists discovered a cache of "truly significant" Stone Age relics during an excavation for a proposed road improvement in northern England, according to Newsweek.
The excavation, which is taking place along the A66, a significant road that runs west to east across the region connecting the counties of North Yorkshire and Cumbria, has already found a plethora of bones dating back thousands of years.
The remnants include a prehistoric hamlet, a putative early medieval building, and Roman-era items, according to a news statement issued by National Highways, a UK-government-owned corporation, in collaboration with the Oxford Cotswold Archaeology (OCA) partnership.
The archaeology crew has now told Newsweek that they discovered a pit containing four prehistoric flint implements while digging.
The items were created and utilized throughout Europe throughout the Upper Paleolithic period (the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age), which spanned the latter half of the last Ice Age.
The Upper Palaeolithic discovery are "truly significant, given the rarity of finds from this period," according to Maria Bellissimo, a spokesman for Oxford Archaeology.
The A66 follows the path of an ancient Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith, but the road has a much longer history, having been in use for almost 10,000 years.
"The route followed by the modern A66 through the Eden Valley and Stainmore Pass was ancient even when the Romans formalized it with their own road, nearly 2,000 years ago"
"Significant road and river junctions and crossings are still marked by prehistoric monuments, Roman forts and medieval castles, whilst the fertile valley has supported communities since the end of the last Ice Age," he added.
The recently discovered Upper Paleolithic discoveries could date back to a time when local conditions were very different from what they are now.
"They would have followed herds of animals, such as reindeer, wild horses, and the rather imposing wild cattle—beasts that traveled annually up and down the Eden Valley and into the Pennines [a region of uplands] via the Stainmore Pass, which, as now, was a major
Until then, we will continue our research in the lab, and in the next three to six months, we will begin obtaining radiocarbon dates that will provide even more detail."
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