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Main British archaeologists and palaeontologists are warning that one of many nation’s most vital palaeolithic websites is below menace as a result of there’s not sufficient laws to guard it.
They’re calling for adjustments to the legislation amid fears that essential proof at a website within the Cotswolds could possibly be misplaced to the UK for ever.
It was there that ice-age mammoths in a unprecedented state of preservation had been found, sparking pleasure in 2021 from Sir David Attenborough and different specialists.
The in depth stays of at the very least one juvenile, two younger grownup and 6 absolutely grown grownup mammoths that roamed 200,000 years in the past had been unearthed at Cerney Wick, close to Swindon, together with instruments utilized by Neanderthals, who most likely hunted these monumental beasts.
Rather more was anticipated to be present in additional excavations as a result of solely a fraction of the huge website, a gravel quarry, had been explored.
Now, simply because the foremost specialists from universities and nationwide museums had been making ready to return – having pursued vital grants – they’ve discovered themselves barred by the quarry proprietor.
DigVentures, a workforce of archaeologists who give the general public alternatives to take part in excavations, dug the positioning and coordinated the evaluation and analysis with main specialists in 2021.
On the time co-founder Lisa Westcott Wilkins praised quarry house owners Hills Quarry Merchandise for permitting them so long as they wanted, whereas the corporate itself stated: “We are going to proceed to help future investigations.”
Now the Observer has seen an 18 July electronic mail despatched by Hills Quarry Merchandise to DigVentures telling them that entry to the positioning “will not be out there” and that they’re “formally requesting” the return of finds.
Westcott Wilkins advised the Observer that her group was finally powerless to stop the positioning being dug by any person else, including: “Higher safety for these websites is paramount.”
She expressed frustration that any additional finds could possibly be taken away within the absence of laws that will forestall this. “Export licences could be troublesome to implement on this case as a result of they don’t cowl bones except they’re altered by human hand or are clearly cultural gadgets.” She stated that different potential finds, together with 5 tusks, are already seen inside the layers.
There’s disbelief among the many archaeologists concerned on the request to return the finds already uncovered. A tusk is on show within the Bristol Museum, with the remaining in conservation. There had additionally been discussions about constructing a public outreach centre to show the remainder of the gathering.
Sources inside the archaeological neighborhood advised the Observer that their understanding was that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could also be linked to the most recent developments, maybe hoping to amass additional mammoth stays and Jurassic fossils for the brand new Pure Historical past Museum Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been buying reveals, reportedly shopping for a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton for $31.8m in 2022.
The Observer approached the UAE Division of Tradition and Tourism for remark. The corporate that owns the positioning, Hills Quarry Merchandise, turned down a request for remark.
A drone {photograph} taken final Sunday means that the waterlogged quarry has been drained prematurely of what some archaeologists concern might be a rushed seek for finds.
Wilkins Westcott stated: “We have now 5 main universities as a part of our analysis consortium as a result of the positioning is so complicated and troublesome. That’s the experience you want with a view to do any justice to this.”
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DigVentures was originally called in to lead the first detailed investigation of the site after a Neanderthal’s stone hand axe emerged. The initial discovery of the mammoth bones was made by amateur fossil hunters Sally and Neville Hollingsworth.
In 2021 the site was described by evolutionary biologist Prof Ben Garrod as “one of the most important discoveries in British palaentology”. The excavations also uncovered the remains of other ice-age giants, such as bison, elks and bears, as well as seeds, pollen and plant fossils – including extinct varieties – that could reveal a great deal about the environment then and how our Neanderthal ancestors lived in a period of prehistory about which little is known.
The exceptional discoveries were covered in a 2021 BBC One documentary, Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard, in which Sir David and Garrod joined archaeologists to film the excavation. The programme drew millions of viewers worldwide.
Garrod told the Observer this weekend: “When looking at something so complex – every grain of pollen or beetle wing case might tell us something – where finds range from the microscopic to, quite literally, mammoth in size, it takes a long-term, collaborative effort involving numerous stakeholders driven by expert knowledge and experience to fully understand the context.
“To lose a site like this now, just as it’s starting to reveal its secrets, would be devastating – not just in terms of knowing what happened there a quarter of a million years ago, but also for understanding how climate change will affect our environment both now and in the future.”
Prof Adrian Lister, the UK’s leading mammoth expert and a palaeobiologist at London’s Natural History Museum, said: “The site may demonstrate the final stages in the evolution of the woolly mammoth, one of the most iconic of ice-age species. We need a controlled excavation and for the remains to stay here, available for study.”
Historic England, one of the organisations that offered grants for the initial excavation, would not have the authority to control any new digging. Mel Barge, its inspector of ancient monuments in the south-west, said: “Historic England’s role is to protect our built heritage which also includes archaeological sites. Based on our current understanding, these remains are not protected as scheduled monuments because there is no structure on the site or clear evidence that these remains were shaped by human activity.”
Mike Heyworth, an archaeologist and former director of the Council for British Archaeology, said: “The problem is that it takes primary legislation and we just never get to the point of being a significant priority for government with limited parliamentary time… This puts the value of Cerney Wick at significant risk.”
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