Preserving a prehistoric fossilEffective teamwork between archaeologists and Lafarge capitalizes on the value of an exceptional find: a rhinoceros skeleton dating back more than 30,000 years.
ObjectiveTo recover and restore the woolly rhinoceros skeleton, a treasure dating from the Ice Age.
ContextThe Alrewas sand and gravel quarry is located in Staffordshire. In October 2002, quarrying operations were called to a halt upon the discovery of an extremely well-preserved skull of a woolly rhinoceros. This prehistoric species, a contemporary of the mammoth, became extinct during the last Ice Age, some 30,000 years ago. It is thought to be the ancestor of today's Sumatran rhino.
SolutionLafarge called in archaeologists from the University of Birmingham and funded the initial excavations at the site. Subsequent financing was provided by English Nature, through their Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund Grants Scheme. Archeologists were able to remove the remainder of the animal bones to be cleaned and identified. Given the exceptional value of this archeological find, quarrying was moved to a different part of the site.
ResultsThe woolly rhinoceros is now under study at the Natural History Museum in London. Thanks to the fine spirit of cooperation between Lafarge and the archaeologists, the digs could be completed before the extraction operations resumed.
LocationLafarge Aggregates, Alrewas |
