fossil Journeys

This site was discovered in 2017 by Sally and Nev Hollingworth and was featured in the BBC One documentary Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard. Smaller excavations of the site had occurred in 2019 and 2021. In the summer of 2024, a 3 week dig was planned as an effort to get as much material out as possible. In total 168 people attended across from students to professionals. All gaining valuable experiences.

I spent 5 nights on the dig and arrived between the 2^nd and 3^rd week. Arriving Thursday afternoon and leaving the following Tuesday afternoon. I originally thought this was a good amount of time. Once arriving I soon realized I could have easily stayed for the full 3weeks and not get bored or have had enough!

Day 1 (Thursday)- Arrival

It was around a 3-hour drive for me, from Cambridgeshire to the Cotswolds, and it was my first long drive by myself, luckily it went smoothly.

I arrived just before lunch time. I was met by Andy who was happy to show me the site and where everything was. He took me to the viewing platform, my first view of the quarry, I was so excited. As people started to make there way out of the pit for lunch, I said hi to the handful of people I knew. Sally then signed me in, and I was good to go.

I had a quick bite to eat, and Dino very kindly helped me put up my tent.

It was then time, time to grab my safety equipment and head into the quarry!

I was greeted by Mark Baggort, one of the team leaders, who showed me what to do and gave me a spot to start digging. A few metres away from me they were digging out a bison skull!

I was digging next to Issy who was a first-year palaeontology student at Portsmouth (same university I went to!). We immediately got on. Our aim was to extend the pit we were in and bring the wall down to the same level. We dug without finding much for the rest of the afternoon, but we were having fun getting to know each other.

Right before we were about to leave Nev came over and asked what’s that. We thought it was a rock but after a rinse of water it was clear it was a mammoth tooth! We were so shocked and annoyed we had missed it! Even better right beside it was a piece of the skull! I immediately became very hopeful I would find something.

The evening consisted of finishing setting up my camp, and cooking for tea. This evening’s talk was by Tom and his paleoart. It was very interesting to see. He talked about how he carries a sketch book and draws a picture on his travels as a memory. I liked that idea. There was also a little bit of late night since in the conservation tent which is always fun.

Day 2 (Friday) – Digging

 After breakfast and the all-important morning briefing, we headed back into the quarry. I was even more excited at the possibility of finding something after a great end to yesterday.

I originally started digging in the same spot, right near the mammoth tooth and skull piece. Hoping there would be more nearby. Issy and a few others had started on the process of digging around the tooth ready to remove them. There was a hive of excitement on what else might be found. In turn that meant people had moved and started digging in the same pit, leading it to become overcrowded.

I therefore made the decision to move, as the chances finding something anywhere were good. I decided to join a pit further along, where Mike Suhr was digging. About halfway through the day I was getting a little frustrated, I was doing a lot of digging but not finding anything, I was getting worried I wouldn’t find anything. It’s hard not to get frustrated or jealous when lots of exciting finds are around you. Mike was very positive and was just happy to be on such an amazing dig whether he found something or nothing. This was the mindset I set to have.

After a long day of digging, we enjoyed a games night, which including fossil themed bingo and a quiz. It was such great fun.

And what a better way to finish the day then going glow worm hunting! We found several, I had never seen a glow worm before, they aren’t even worms!

Day 3 (Saturday) – Hard Decisions

The morning briefing consisted of making some hard decisions. The digger had uncovered a fragmented mammoth tusk towards the back of the quarry that needed excavation and plaster jacketing. By this point I had made a mental list of all the things I wanted to try to do to make the most of my time here. Do I continue digging to try and find my own find, do I help with the mammoth tusk, do I do some on site conservation or do I help dig in the Kellaway’s formation? Decisions, decisions.

The obvious choice (and the no brainer) was to join the mammoth tusk. I thought although it would be great to find something, I would gain a lot more helping and learning how to excavate a mammoth tusk. How could I say no!

We started digging a deep trench around the area, starting of a good distance away from the tusk. As we got down deep enough, we started making our way in, slowly and carefully as we got closer and closer.

Once it was exposed enough, we started preparing it to be plastered. We cut up burlap into strips, covered the tusk in sheets of tinfoil so the plaster doesn’t make direct contact and started mixing the plaster of Paris to a porridge like consistency. We then have to work quickly before the plaster dries too much. The plaster goes on short ways followed by long ways.

We then had to wait for it to dry. This took longer then expected.

Whilst the plaster was drying, I had a go at georeferencing with Max, this is where we log where all the finds have come from in the quarry. We were doing this through Moasure. Moasure is an app you can download onto your phone; you then connect it to a sensor at the end of a stick. You then must walk from the reference point to the find/specimen stopping every few feet. This records it to create a map of the quarry and the finds later.

It was at this point we realised the plaster wasn’t going to dry fully today drying. Not far from the tusk the digger had uncovered some more bone. We finished off the day digging around that area. Sally and Dino uncovered and excavated a small mammoth tooth from that area.

The day finished with more bingo and an evening disco that lasted till the early hours of the morning and included dancing dinos!

Day 4 (Sunday) – Getting Interesting

The day started back where we left off yesterday. Digging near where the tusk was. Although it soon started getting interesting. As we were digging around this small bit of bone, it just kept going getting bigger and bigger. We were getting very excited. At this point we thought it was part of a mammoth jaw as the tooth was found nearby and it was shape seemed to match. At this point it was Max, Mike, Georgie and myself working on it.

I got asked if I would go and help do some earth resistance, which I was happy to do, I then floated between the two keeping an eye of the progress of the jaw.

The earth resistance was interesting. It is mainly used within archaeology to detect walls and structures, but we were seeing if it would detect an ancient river system which was where most of the fossils were coming from. It is where an electrode is placed in the ground and a voltage is sent, it detects if there is any resistance which can be caused by a wall or wet/more compact rock.

Another layer of plaster got put on the tusk before it got lifted. Mihai dug under to then flip it and take it up top. It was interesting to watch.

I then went back to helping dig out the jaw which had come on a long way and looked so good. The end still hadn’t been discovered!

It was at this point Georgie realised she had been uncovering a horn core! We all sat there in shock and excitement. We hadn’t been uncovering a mammoth jaw, it was a bison skull!

The evening consisted of a fantastic talk about last years dig, how the set up was different and the different finds they had then. It was interesting to compare the then and now.

Day 5 (Monday) – Bison Skull Lifted!

Today we were straight back over to the bison skull. Max was leaving early afternoon, so we really wanted to get it lifted before. We gently dug around it, making sure there would be little to no resistance when it gets lifted but enough to support it. We also covered it in wet cloths to prevent it from drying out too much. When it was decided it was ready a decision was made to wait so it could be filmed, but unfortunately it fell all of a sudden. It then broke into three or more pieces. It was disappointing to watch it fall. We loaded it up onto crates and took it to the conservation tent where Keera started the process of cleaning it.

I decided to finish the day doing something I was yet to do, and that was the sieving. Sieving consisted of going through the waste piles and sieving to see if anything had been missed. We were looking for anything from teeth to flint scrapers.  I really enjoyed this and wish I would have done more of it. I didn’t mind getting wet as it was warm, it was actually refreshing! It was fun going through and looking, a change from digging. I didn’t find much, the most interesting thing being a small segment of ammonite.

The evening started with a fascinating talk by the Yorkshire Fossil Hunter (Mark Kemp), it was all about his journey and how he started his business, it was inspiring.

The day ended stargazing. This was one of my favourite parts. A small group of us ended the day laying on tarps and blankets, in the middle of the field, in complete darkness, just staring at the sky. There was a meteor shower and every time one of us spotted a shooting star we all pointed in awe. I couldn’t think of anything that could be better in that moment.  

Day 6 (Tuesday) – Final Day

I started my day packing up my things and my tent. I wanted to get it done so I could enjoy what time I had left without worrying about having to pack up.

Today was hot, so hot not many people felt like digging. A few people went in the quarry in the morning but as the day went on it just got hotter.

I decided to sit in the conservation tent and work on cleaning some of the bones that had come out of the quarry. I was working on some smaller bones. I was using a wooden chopstick to gently remove bigger bits of dirt and some acetone to help clean it. We used acetone and not water because the bones had already been drying, acetone dries much quicker than water.

I sat down and did an interview with Sally-Ann this was something I had challenged myself to do, as I can lack confidence. I had decided to talk about the mammoth tusk, the process of excavating it and how there was talk if it was worth it because it was fragmentary. To my surprise it went really well. Only took two tries and the words just came to me. I was happy with it.

At this point it was really hot and not many people were digging. A large group of us ended up sitting under the large oak tree and just talking and sharing stories. I didn’t mind I couldn’t imagine a better way to finish off the dig before I eventually brought myself to hop in the car and drive home (with a cheeky McDonalds stop).