This series explores how Hackney’s Old Stone Age was discovered because of the rapid urban development in the borough in the late 1800s. The dedicated work of a handful of collectors preserved these for the future. In this post, we explore the work of a local archaeological pioneer, Worthington George Smith.
Worthington George Smith (1835-1917)
Smith was an eccentric architect and artist from Shoreditch whose pioneering archaeological methods and dedicated research are still central to understanding the Old Stone Age (Palaeolithic) in Britain today.
Smith was interested to learn that ancient stone tools had been found in housing developments just northeast of his home at 15 Mildmay Grove, Shoreditch. He began daily visits to personally examine the gravel pits, drainage ditches, house foundations and newly laid roads in search of artefacts.
A dedicated search
His dedication preserved a priceless record of an extremely rare archaeological site that would otherwise have been lost without notice beneath a growing London. He observed and identified the existence of a buried ancient land-surface (his ‘Palaeolithic floor’) on which well preserved tools were left as they were hundreds of thousands of years before.
In 1880 he began exploring construction sites north of Stoke Newington Common, and over the next four years he found over 200 handaxes and ‘hundreds of thousands’ of flakes. He found so many that he offered them to other collectors for just the price of postage.
Legacy
Smith was a pioneer of archaeological methods. While most collectors relied on purchasing attractive handaxes from others, he found and collected everything, keeping detailed records about location.
In his book Man the Primeval Savage (1894) alongside his findings he offered illustrations depicting life in the Old Stone Age. These included images of women involved in activities such as toolmaking, which was progressive for the time.
Smith’s collection is now divided between the collections of several museums, including the British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, and Wardown Park Museum in Luton.
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Content for this blog featured in the exhibition ‘Hackney 300,000 BC: Meet the Neanderthal neighbours and curious creatures of the borough’s Old Stone Age’ at Hackney Museum 26 January – 29 July 2023.