One of the most important prehistoric sites in Britain, Kent's Cavern is a network of limestone caves that have been continuously occupied — by animals and humans alike — for at least 400,000 years. Flint tools, animal bones, and early human remains found here helped overturn Victorian assumptions about the age of humanity in Britain. Today you can walk through the illuminated chambers on a guided tour, past stalactites and stalagmites that took millions of years to form.
The caves are on Ilsham Road, about a mile east of the town centre. Open daily; check the website for seasonal tour times.
story: > A fragment of jawbone found here in 1927 was later dated to 41,000–44,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest known remains of a modern human in northwest Europe. The Victorian quarrymen who first dug here had no idea what they were unearthing.