During the building of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, archaeologists discovered remains of a 400,000 year-old elephant.
During the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link - the high speed dedicated railway from London to the Channel Tunnel for the Eurostar TGV train - (now called High Speed 1), important archaeological remains of a Stone Age elephant were discovered. The picture shows the tusks of this formidable beast - weighing around 10 tonnes and twice the size of modern elephants - which was killed around 400,000 years ago and, sadly, a species that is now extinct. The male elephant had been killed and butchered by a group of humans who would have eaten the meat raw. There was evidence at the site of other butchered animals such as rhino, horses, deer and buffalo. This is a rare and important archaeological discovery because it is the earliest evidence of elephant butchery in the UK. Remains of the elephant including tusks, torso, skull, fore-limbs and teeth have been taken to the British Museum. The site has now become a car park for the rail link.
Size: 3411px × 5126px
Location: Ebbsfleet, Kent, UK
Photo credit: © qaphotos.com / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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