The item turned out to be a hand axe from the late Middle Paleolithic period, an era dating back between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago, according to a Nov. 21 Facebook post by Worthing Museum.

A paper in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal suggests a 15th-century diptych depicts St. Steven carrying a prehistoric hand-axe.

The AX1 (top) hand axe exhibits a blended hand axe and tomahawk-style design. The octagonal Appalachian hickory handle is both durable and comfortable to work with.

It’s just a little more out of the ordinary for that rock to actually be a Neanderthal hand axe, likely carved between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. “I was looking around and I saw this shiny ...