BASILDON may be celebrating its 60th birthday next year, but the discovery of ancient relics at a site north of the A127 proves people have lived in the area since the Stone Age.

Excitement is growing among Essex historians as archaeologists begin excavating what they believe to be a Mesolithic camp in a field off Old Nevendon Road, Wickford.

The work is being carried out by John Moore Heritage Services, a private firm based in Oxford, who told the Echo so far they have discovered a number of flint tools, including an axe and an adze, a tool used for smoothing the surface of wood.

They have also found waste materials, which archaeologists call debitage, such as flint cores, flakes and scrapers, produced during the production of the tools.

Meanwhile, evidence of campsites have been uncovered which give an idea of what kinds of buildings the prehistoric settlers lived in.

But what is really significant about the find is the remains have been preserved in situ, which means they are thought to have been found in the same place they were dropped, between eight and nine thousands years ago.

John Moore, whose company is leading the excavation, said: “Usually relics dating back this many thousands of years get disturbed and moved from their original positions as the land surface on which they were dropped gets ploughed away.

“However, at this particular site, the land surface used to be undulating and, therefore, the relics have managed to survive in depressions in the land, undisturbed by farming.”

Ken Crowe is a keeper of human history at Southend Museum, which will exhibit the artefacts.

He was delighted with the find and said: “Plenty of Mesolithic relics have been found in south Essex, but an undisturbed site is a first.

“If the relics are in situ, in the same position in which they were dropped eight or nine thousand years ago, this is a very exciting find.

“In this case, by plotting where each flint has fallen, we may be able to work out where the tool maker was sitting when he made the tool.” He added: “The evidence of stakeholes and remnants of building structures is also something we haven’t found before and is very exciting.”

The Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age, is the period in history between 8500BC to 4000BC, after the last Ice Age, when plant, animal and human life slowly began to reappear in northern Europe.

Michael Leach, honorary secretary of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History, said: “If these flints are in their original position it would be of very great historical interest.”

According to Mr Leach, Mesolithic man probably spoke some sort of language and would have been recogniseable as humans, albeit “a bit shorter and stockier than the average person today”. and they would definitely have eaten meat.

They also perfected the bow and arrow and once lived all over northern Europe.

Once the site has been excavated, the artefacts will undergo post-excavation work before being displayed at the Southend Central Museum, in Victoria Avenue.