Archaeologists discover mysterious 4500-year-old stone tools

Archaeologists have unearthed a hoard of 20 unusual Bronze Age stone tools unlike any that have been found before at a site in the UK. Researchers from Clwydian Range Archaeological Group (CRAG) discovered around 20 of roughly triangular stone hand tools, of various sizes, at the excavation site in Wales. The tools appear to have been deposited deliberately - perhaps ceremonially - in what would have been a stream around 4,500 years ago, researchers said.

The tools are rough slabs of the limestone, which have been shaped to produce one pointed end, researchers said. The tools vary in size, between two inches long to about 8.6 inches long. However, they all have this characteristic point at one end, which has then been battered indicating heavy use. "I have not seen anything like them before, and I have talked to a number of colleagues who have never seen anything like them," Ian Brooks, an archaeologist at CRAG told 'Live Science'.

Although, the purpose of the tools is unknown, and future work by the archaeological team would include examining the utensils in more detail it is possible that the tools were used for chipping ornamental designs onto rock surfaces, Brooks said. "One of the things that you do get in the Bronze Age is the decoration of natural boulders and rock faces, producing things like cut marks and rings and suchlike. The point on these things would be about the right sort of size for pecking that sort of design," Brook said.