In what has been described as the biggest dig of its kind, nearly 200 students from 20 universities have descended upon a former quarry in Cerney Wick to see what treasures they can unearth.
The site, a former quarry owned by Swindon-based The Hills Group, featured in a huge documentary four years ago with Sir David Attenborough, after what was described as the world's biggest mammoth graveyard was discovered.
This is the second dig at the site and it took place for three weeks from the start of July until Monday 5 August.
This time, in the dig entitled 'Mammoth 2.1' the site, which is believed to date back to around 220,000 years ago, Neanderthal hand axes, ancient bison bones and a prehistoric shark fin were all discovered as well as more mammoth teeth and tusks.
The project leads were Dr Neville Hollingworth and his wife Sally, who made the original mammoth graveyard discovery back in 2019.
The couple, who describe themselves as amateur archaeologists, started studying the site only once it had already been quarried for gravel as it revealed the prehistoric layers so the first dig could take place.
According to Sir David Attenborough the original discoveries were one of the most significant Paleolithic finds in the UK.
Steppe mammoths were an ancestor of the woolly mammoth, and this site is believed to date back to around 220,000 years ago.
The site had been allowed to return to being a lake, before it was drained so this second major dig could be undertaken. There is evidence that the site was a river and the fossils became trapped in the silt and rocks on the river bed.
The mammoth teeth that have been found are well preserved, some complete with roots. They have been found alongside shoulder bones and two partial tusks, one from a small mammoth and one much larger. Half a bison skull was found complete with horn, and a bison rib bone attached to a vertebra.
On this second dig experts and volunteers were joined by students from around 20 universities across the country, with many of them camping at the dig.
Now that the dig is finished the research and conservation of all the finds will be carried out.
According to the Hills Group, 180 volunteers and 20 universities were involved over three weeks - making it the biggest project of its kind in the UK.
A company spokesperson said: "Special thanks go to the Quarry Products’ team who helped prepare the dig site – and Transport Administrator, Sally Hollingworth and her husband Neville, who led the project and have done an amazing job with the organisation, ensuring the health and safety of everyone on site, whilst helping the volunteers get the most from the dig."
Peter Andrew, the director of Hills Quarry Products, said this his biggest hope had been to find a mammoth's tusk with a neanderthal's head on the end of it to conclusively prove that they were there at the same time.
He said: "Ever since Sally and Neville first came along, after we had extracted the sand and gravel and they found the bones sticking out the floor, it's just taken off from there.
"We're heavily involved in archaeology. At every site before we start digging for sand and gravel we have a process that we have archaelogists in to assess any finds that might be there, look at the area to see if there's anything of any interest. That's all mapped and logged as we strip the soils off.
"The unique difference here is that we had already done all that and we'd taken the gravel out and then they found the Steppe Mammoth bone and from there we've gone on to find Steppe Bison, teeth of crocodiles, fins of sharks.
"It's the site that keeps on giving.
"I think we've always tried to have good working relationships with interested parties like archaeologists and local communities. At the end of the day we're a family company and legacy is really important to us and the fantastic thing about this is we have had 19 universities with hundreds of students attending over the three week period. What a superb event. What a superb opportunity for them."
Nigel Larkin, Museum Professional at Natural History Conservation, said: "By supporting this project Hills have done the archaelogy and paleontology community a massive favour by letting this project happen.
"We've found mammoths here. Maybe even woolly rhino as well. Marine reptiles, horses and hyenas were also here. We know that they were here as we've found droppings.
"It's been a superb opportunity for everyone."
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