Glaciers pushing down from the North Pole shaped the Thames Valley around 450,000 years ago. Since then, the climate has fluctuated between fairly warm weather and periods of intense cold known as ice ages.
Humans in the form of Homo erectus and then Homo sapiens have roamed the landscape for most of this period. Hand-axes dating back almost 200,000 years are just one form of evidence left by our ancestors, which can be viewed in our local museums.
Over the coming months we will expand this theme using photographs, artwork and documents made available by archives and libraries in the ThamesPilot partnership.
|
|
Polished Neolithic axe head |