ALULA, SAUDI ARABIA—A 20-inch-long hand ax sharpened on two edges was discovered on the surface of a sand dune in northwestern Saudi Arabia, according to a Live Science report. Excavation of the area uncovered an additional 13 smaller hand axes. The long, narrow tool is nearly four inches wide and about two inches thick. Researchers led by archaeologist Ömer Can Aksoy and Giulia Edmond of the Royal Commission for AlUla said that the basalt ax is easily held with two hands, but it is unclear how it might have been used for cutting or chopping. Aksoy explained that other tools found in the area may be about 200,000 years old, based upon an assessment of their form and characteristics, but the hand ax has not yet been dated. To read about dating of life-size animal reliefs in northern Saudi Arabia, go to "Oldest Animal Art," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2021.
