18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

200,000-year-old ‘mammoth graveyard’ found in the southwest UK

Researchers have unearthed a mammoth “graveyard” filled with the bony remains of five individuals, including an infant, two juveniles, and two adults that died during the last ice age at what is now a quarry in Swindon, a town in the southwest UK.

Experts who unearthed a 200,000-year-old mammoth graveyard say it is “one of Britain’s biggest Ice Age discoveries in recent years”.

Digging at the site began after two keen amateur fossil hunters, Sally and Neville Hollingworth, spotted a Neanderthal hand axe at the site.

Experts from DigVentures, an archaeology social enterprise, then went on to find remains belonging to a species of Steppe mammoth, an ancestor of the woolly mammoth.

A research team led by archaeologists from DigVentures discovered well preserved evidence at the site
A research team led by archaeologists from DigVentures discovered well-preserved evidence at the site. Photo: DİGVENTURES

The mammoth remains, such as tusks, leg bones, ribs, and vertebrae belonging to a species of Steppe mammoth, a group whose descendants include the woolly mammoth. Although early Steppe mammoths stood up to 13.1 feet (4 meters) high at the shoulders, the five individuals were smaller, according to Live Science.

Delicate beetle wings and fragile freshwater snail shells as well as stone tools from the Neanderthal age were also found at the site.

“Finding mammoth bones is always extraordinary, but finding ones that are so old and well preserved, and in such close proximity to Neanderthal stone tools is exceptional,” Lisa Westcott Wilkins, the co-founder of DigVentures, said in a statement.

The team recovered bones including tusks, leg bones, ribs and vertebrae belonging to a species of Steppe mammoth
The team recovered bones including tusks, leg bones, ribs, and vertebrae belonging to a species of Steppe mammoth. Photo: DİGVENTURES

According to DigVentures, the crowdsourced archaeological organization in the U.K. that led the excavation, more are expected to be found because only a fraction of the vast site, a gravel quarry, has been excavated.

Research is ongoing to understand why so many mammoths were found in one place, and whether they were hunted or scavenged by Neanderthals.

The site has been dated to between 220,000 and 210,000 years ago, toward the end of an interglacial, or warm period, when Neanderthals still lived in Britain.

The discovery will be featured in a new BBC One documentary Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard which will be broadcast on 30 December.

Related Articles

Unique Scythian glass pendants found in the Poltava region of Ukraine

8 October 2021

8 October 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed unique amphora-shaped pendants near the town of Kotelva in the Poltava oblast of central Ukraine. A team...

Secrets of the Skull Room: 12 Ancient Human Skulls Unearthed in Sefertepe Excavations

16 September 2025

16 September 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered 12 new human skulls during ongoing excavations at Sefertepe, one of the most important sites of the...

From Ancient Scripts to Digital Insights: TLHdig 0.2 Breathes New Life into Hittite Cuneiform Tablets

27 March 2025

27 March 2025

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boğazköy-Hattuša, once the capital of the Hittite Empire during the late Bronze Age (circa...

High-status Macedonian tomb discovered in ancient Aegae, Central Macedonia

2 April 2024

2 April 2024

In the ancient city of Aegae (present-day Vergina) in Imathia, Central Macedonia, during the construction of the sewerage network, tomb...

Unique Iron Age Divination Spoon Found on the Isle of Man

21 February 2025

21 February 2025

A unique bronze spoon, dating back 2,000 years and believed to have played a role in divination rituals, has been...

Archaeologists uncovered a kurgan tomb from a previously unknown culture

8 January 2023

8 January 2023

Archaeologists from the Siberian Federal University have unearthed a kurgan tomb and numerous bronze tools and artifacts from a previously...

Ice Age turtle finds near Magdeburg point to canned food from the Stone Age

2 May 2024

2 May 2024

Experts have recovered around 50,000-year-old turtle shell fragments from the Barleben-Adamsee gravel pit near Magdeburg. The turtles could have been...

Archaeologists Found 1,600-year-old Burials of Noble Women and Gold Jewelry in the Mountains of Crimea

4 December 2024

4 December 2024

Archaeologists found burials of noble women filled with gold and silver jewelry in the Crimean mountains in the Bakhchisaray region...

Nineteen Ancient Tombs from the 4th Century BC Unearthed in Padula, Campania

8 February 2025

8 February 2025

In Padula, located in the Campania region of southern Italy, authorities announced the remarkable discovery of nineteen ancient tombs during...

In Turkey’s Zerzevan Castle, a badge bearing the US national symbol was discovered

4 October 2021

4 October 2021

Recent investigations have led to the discovery of a badge bearing the pattern of the Great Seal of the United...

Neanderthals caused ecosystems to change 125,000 years ago

16 December 2021

16 December 2021

Researchers say Neanderthals changed the ecosystem by turning forests into grasslands 125,000 years ago. Around 125,000 years ago, these close...

Female pharaoh’s temple reveals teamwork of Egypt’s ‘ancient masters’

18 November 2021

18 November 2021

Despite the widely acknowledged monumentality and durability of ancient Egyptian sculpture, carved reliefs, and paintings the makers of these works...

Lost Children’s Circle: Seven Infant Remains Unearthed in Mysterious Hittite Ritual Structure at Uşaklı Höyük

8 August 2025

8 August 2025

At the heart of Uşaklı Höyük (Uşaklı Mound), archaeologists have uncovered the “Lost Children’s Circle” — a mysterious Hittite-era ritual...

New Discovery at Karahan Tepe: The Figure of a Running Wild Donkey Carved on Stone

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

The figure of a running wild donkey carved on a stone was discovered during excavations at Karahan Tepe, a Pre-Pottery...

Archaeologists Discover Assyrian-Style Leather Armor 2,700 Years Old in China

11 December 2021

11 December 2021

The new research shows that the unique leather armor found in a horse rider’s tomb in Northwest China was made...