Ancient stone tools found in Ukraine offer oldest evidence of human presence in Europe

Deliberately fashioned chipped stones date back more than 1m years and may have been used by homo erectus

Ancient stone tools found in western Ukraine may offer the oldest known evidence of the presence of humans in Europe, according to new research.

The chipped stones, deliberately fashioned from volcanic rock, were excavated from a quarry in Korolevo in the 1970s. Archaeologists used new methods to date the layers of sedimentary rock surrounding the tools to more than 1m years old.