Ancient 20-inch-long hand ax discovered in Saudi Arabia may be world’s largest

Excavators in Saudi Arabia have unearthed a massive prehistoric hand ax that may rank as the largest in the world. This artifact, extending 20.2 inches (51.3 centimeters) in length, can be gripped comfortably with both hands as per a recent announcement.

A multinational team uncovered the basalt hand ax within the Qurh Plain, situated below AlUla in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. Both edges of the hand ax are honed, indicating its possible use for slicing or cleaving. Nonetheless, its exact use and the identity of its creators, whether perhaps Homo erectus or Homo sapiens, remain uncertain.

The age of the tool is yet to be determined as “extensive research is required to pin down a precise age,” remarked Ömer Can Aksoy, the archaeologist leading the dig, in a correspondence with Live Science. Other artifacts discovered at the location could trace back 200,000 years based on their shape and properties, suggesting the hand ax might also hail from the Lower or Middle Paleolithic periods, posited Aksoy.

Related: A 7,000-year-old cult site in Saudi Arabia teeming with human remains and animal bones

The discovery of the colossal hand ax, with a width of 3.7 inches (9.5 cm) and thickness of 2.2 inches (5.7 cm), happened almost by chance. “It was the closing moments of our fieldwork for the day, and it had been a sweltering day,” Aksoy recalls. “As the day was ending, two colleagues stumbled upon the enormous handaxe atop a sand dune.”

Following the discovery call, the remainder of the team arrived and initiated a thorough excavation of the vicinity. “We uncovered 13 additional handaxes at the site,” Aksoy stated. “In order to mark the locations of each find on the sand dune, every member of the team removed their yellow vests.”

While the other hand axes found were akin in design, they were less substantial in size. “After the initial elation over finding such a significant object, we conducted a preliminary survey for any other objects of comparable size,” noted Aksoy. The search for substantial hand axes proceeds, with Aksoy suggesting, “this could be one of the lengthiest on record.”

Explorations at the Qurh Plain continue, with the field season of 2023, spanning October to December, nearing completion. The team expects to recommence archaeological efforts in the colder and warmer months of 2024.

Laura serves as the archaeology and Life’s Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. Her coverage includes general sciences such as paleontology. Her journalism has been featured in outlets like The New York Times, Scholastic, and Popular Science and on Spectrum, a website devoted to autism research. She has secured multiple accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting with a weekly newspaper in the Seattle area. Laura earned her bachelor’s in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and holds a master’s in science communication from NYU.