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Archive 2004 |
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published on 21 Jan 2004 Skull will be put on show The skull of a woolly mammoth found in a Wiltshire gravel pit will form the centrepiece of a new education centre. As the Advertiser revealed yesterday, the complete skull was discovered in the Ashton Keynes end of Cotswold Water Park. It is expected the skull will take pride of place at the Water Park’s Gateway Visitor Centre when it opens at the end of February. Mammoth skulls are made of light and thin bone and usually disintegrate before they can be fossilised. Dr Neville Hollingworth, 42, a science programmes officer at the Swindon Natural Environment Research Council, said: “A mammoth skull is rare. They are like eggshells. Intact skulls of mammoths are uncommon and the find should provide information on mammoth ecology.” The skull, which measures a metre by a metre-and-a-half, is so well preserved that delicate features, such as cheekbones, are still intact and some teeth are still in their sockets. It is likely the skull was buried quickly between 50,000 and 240,000 years ago, possibly due to a flood, and preserved in a layer of silt. It is believed to have come from a female aged between 25 and 40. Further excavation at the site may reveal more bones and possibly the tusks. Dr Hollingworth added: “We will keep on searching. For all we know the rest of the skeleton may be still be in the pit.” Meg Davies, the water park’s biodiversity and minerals officer, said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to house this very valuable find. It will definitely be our centrepiece.” Professor Adrian Lister, a world expert on mammoths from University College London, said: “It’s the first complete mammoth skull that’s been found for more than 100 years. I’m looking forward to studying it.” Prehistoric fish bones, possibly from the pliosaur, a killer whale, have recently been found at Groundwell Ridge in north Swindon. Similar bones were also found at the railway works in 1975 and bones from plesiosaurs aquatic reptiles were found around Swindon in the 1920s. They are displayed in Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, in Bath Road. Back to 2004 index |
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