Pre-historic axe tops Britain's treasure list

London, July 22 (ANI): A hand axe that is more than half a million years old, which was found by a man walking his dog, has been named the most important historical finding made by the British public.

The Happisburgh Hand Axe -radically altered people's understanding of England's past, revealing that Britain had been inhabited by humans for 100,000 years longer than thought, dating back to when the UK was joined to the Continent and man lived in caves, the Daily Express reported.

Civil servant Mike Chambers stumbled across the artefact in 2001 on the Norfolk shoreline.

The axe came first in a countdown of the top 50 archaeological discoveries in the UK for the ITV1 series Britain's Secret Treasures.

Presenter and historian Bettany Hughes, along with a panel from the British Museum and the Council for British Archaeology, examined almost a million items to judge each on its importance, beauty, cultural and historic significance.

The Ringlemere Cup, a religious artefact that is as old as the Pyramids, has bagged the second position.

It was unearthed on top of a mound near Sandwich in Kent by Cliff Bradshaw and revealed a religious site that would have been a distant cousin of Stonehenge .

In third place is the Staffordshire Hoard, a find of 1,500 gold and jewelled objects dating back to Anglo Saxon times. Terry Herbert discovered them in 2009 while metal detecting on a farm in Staffordshire.

When the hoard was displayed at the Birmingham Museum, it broke attendance records as people from all over the world flocked to see it.

The Coin of Domitianus, found in 2003 by Brian Malin in a field near Chalgrove, Oxfordshire, unveiled an unheard of Roman emperor. badge in the shape of a boar has been ranked at number five, it was found by Carl Dawson near the site of the Battle of Bosworth in Leicestershire.

It questioned the location of the War of the Roses conflict, suggesting the visitors' centre is two miles from where it should be.

The Boar Badge was most likely worn by one of King Richard III's knights.

Sixth place went to the find of Ken Wallace, the Hallaton Hoard. The 5,000 silver and gold Iron Age coins from the first century AD were found in Leicestershire in 2000.

The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan is made of copper and is one of only a few objects from the time when Hadrian's Wall was functional as a military stronghold.

The remaining three are the 7th century Balthild seal-ring matrix, made of solid gold and discovered in 1998 near Norwich; the Crosby Garret Helmet, Roman head gear found as fragments in Cumbria; and the Vale of York Hoard, 10th century silver bars and jewellery. (ANI)