Feb 07, 2014 08:27 AM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

A team of experts from the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and Queen Mary University of London have discovered direct evidence of the earliest known humans in northern Europe. The sighting near the village of Happisburgh, on the Norfolk coast, is hailed to be the most important archaeological discoveries ever made in Britain.

Experts said that the ancient human footprints of probably five individuals, from more than 800,000 years ago, were exposed in an archaeological site in Happisburgh due to coastal erosion.

"These people were of a similar height to us and were fully bipedal," Prof Chris Stringer at the Museum said in a statement. "They seem to have become extinct in Europe by 600,000 years ago and were perhaps replaced by the species Homo heidelbergensis. Neanderthals followed from about 400,000 years ago."

This is a significant discovery because footprints of million-years-old are a rarity outside Africa. Prior to Norfolk finds, the oldest footprint discovered in Britain dates back to just 7,500 years ago, Independent reports.

"This is an extraordinarily rare discovery. The Happisburgh site continues to rewrite our understanding of the early human occupation of Britain and indeed of Europe," Dr Nick Ashton from the British Museum said.

When observed the footprints closer through a 3D model, the Happisburgh prints most likely made by a group of adults and children

Experts said that sadly these footprints have been washed away. They hope the site reveals more and more footprints in future.

The extraordinarily rare find is published in science journal PlosOne.

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