Other archaeology
Flint hand axes
Discover more archaeology
Forget your smart phone, there was once a time when a lump of flint was the thing no one could live without!
500,000 years ago no hunter-gatherer would be seen without his or her handy flint axe. Used for chopping, cutting, scraping and pounding it was the multi-tool of the day and essential for survival for our Neanderthal (and earlier) ancestors.
Fast forward to 6000 years ago and modern humans just like us used flint tools to plough the first fields whilst flint arrowheads became the first weapons of mass destruction.
The flint tools at Ipswich Museum are the busiest collection in terms of enquiries from researchers. If you would like to see them for yourself please contact the museum on 01473 433550.
There are also smaller displays about the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age that you might find interesting.
Ever been on a bus to Castle Hill? Did you know that you were on your way to a fabulous Roman Villa? Discover how the other half lived at the height of Roman Britain. From the fine pottery on the dining table and the delicate jewellery worn to impress, to the farm tools that supported the villa and the people who lived and worked there. All Roman life is here
Find out more in the Roman Gallery.
Suffolk boasts some of the earliest evidence for man. Step back in time and start your journey when Ipswich was a vast area of grassland whipped by cold winds, when our ancestors used stone tools for survival and came face to face with woolly mammoths! Continue on as we learn how to use bronze and iron and become a fully fledged early medieval town. Explore the town that Cardinal Wolsey was born in and see how it survived through Civil war, World wars and swung into a new modern era.