A historical artifact that was recently rediscovered may offer a penetrating clue to the identity of the infamous Jack the Ripper, who mutilated and murdered five women in London in 1888 but was never caught.

Many theories have been propounded as to the murderer’s identity, and little if any evidence has been found as to his physical appearance, but the rediscovery of a walking stick that may have his face carved on it has excited some police researchers. It was just found by staff in the archives of the College of Policing in the U.K., who called the face engraved on the cane “the only reported facial composite” of the infamous murderer.

“Finding this cane was an exciting moment for us,” Antony Cash of the College of Policing enthused. “Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest and most infamous murder cases in our history and his crimes were significant in paving the way for modern policing and forensics as it caused police to begin experimenting with and developing new techniques as they attempted to try and solve these murders, such as crime scene preservation, profiling, and photography.”