THE WEST RUNTON MAMMOTH - NOT a WOOLLY STORY the World's Largest Mammoth Skeleton - Only Missing Bones Eaten by Hyaenas

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THE WEST RUNTON MAMMOTH - NOT A WOOLLY STORY The world's largest mammoth skeleton - only missing bones eaten by hyaenas Dated around 600,000 years ago is the West Runton Mammoth (it wasn't a woolly one); the most complete specimen of the species to have been found in the world and the oldest mammoth skeleton to have been found in the UK. The pelvic bone of this large elephant was found at the bottom of cliffs by West Runton couple Harold and Margaret Hems in December 1990 after a weather- ravaged night. A year later, another storm revealed more bones and in January 1992 an exploratory dig was carried out, followed by a three-month excavation in 1995. It unearthed the most complete skeleton of a mammoth, from the species Mammuthus trogontherii - the Steppe Mammoth. Eighty five per cent of it was there – with the only missing bits having been nibbled off by scavenging hyaenas (some of the bones have hyaena bitemarks and fossilised hyaena poo has been dissected and found to contain mammoth bone!). At 4m tall at the shoulder, and weighing 10 tonnes, it is the biggest elephant skeleton ever found, and twice as large as anything found on the Jurassic Coast. You can now see some of it in Cromer Museum, Norwich Castle Museum and the mighty skull, tusks and more bones are in The Norfolk Collections Centre at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse. Rhino teeth and bones have also been found in the West Runton Freshwater Bed. The remains of a Woolly Mammoth butchery have been found in Lynford in the Brecks, and at nearby West Tofts, a 250,000-year old flint handaxe was found that features a fossil scallop shell in its centre. The artefact's maker had carefully chipped around the fossil so it sat undamaged in the centre of the axe - an early example of artistic awareness..

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West Runton Elephant
Cromer Museum Brief History Guide no: 17 £1.25p The West Runton Elephant Steppe Mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii By Nigel Larkin 1 The West Runton Freshwater Bed is the dark band at the bottom of the cliffs 2 twigs and small mammal Discovery bones, through medium sized The story begins on 13 Decem- deer, horse and rhino bones to ber 1990 when, following a the huge bones of elephants stormy night, local residents that roamed our country in Harold and Margaret Hems took herds back then. There have a walk on the beach. They been many species of elephant found a large bone partly ex- living in England over the last posed at the bottom of the few millions of years. The West cliffs, and contacted Norfolk Runton Elephant, living when Museums Service. It was identi- the Freshwater Bed was laid fied as a pelvic bone of a large down, was the Steppe Mam- elephant. Just over a year later moth Mammuthus trogontherii . after another storm, several more huge bones were uncov- This was the largest species of ered. This was obviously a find elephant that has ever lived, of major significance, and in and the largest animal ever to January 1992 the first explora- have lived on land except for tory excavation took place. the very biggest dinosaurs. Once the results of this had Standing four metres high at its been evaluated, a second ma- shoulder, it would have jor 3 month excavation fol- weighed about ten tons – twice lowed in 1995. the weight of any male African elephant you would find today.
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The Impact of Mammoths on Their Biome: Clash of Two Paradigms
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