Family of rabbits unearth 8,000-year-old Stone Age artefacts
Rabbits are considered to be the bane of a farmer’s life as they relentlessly burrow and dig-up the land. However, one family of rabbits has won some favour in Land’s End, England, after their digging unearthed a number of ancient artefacts, some dating back at least 8,000 years.
A ‘gold mine’ of Stone Age arrow heads and flint tools were found in a freshly dug network of rabbit burrows, leading archaeologists from ‘Big Heritage’ to plan a full-scale excavation of the site, which will take place over two years.
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in western Cornwall, England. It is the most westerly point of the country and is nestled precariously on the inhospitable Atlantic coast. It is a land imprinted with thousands of years of myth and legend. Its windswept fields are peppered with incredible records of ancient times, including megalithic monuments, Celtic shrines, ancient tin mines, burial sites, and preserved ancient villages.
Although there are a number of important archaeological sites in the local area, the latest Land's End dig will almost certainly be the first prompted by a family of rabbits. The formal excavation of the 150-acre area has not yet begun, but an initial analysis suggests that there could be a large Neolithic cemetery, Bronze Age burial mounds and an Iron Age hill fort buried there.
“It seems important people have been buried here for thousands of years - probably because of the stunning views. But it's a million-to-one chance rabbits should make such an astounding find,” said Team leader Dean Paton. “A family of rabbits has just rewritten the history books.”
Comments
April, this is a remarkable article and I am going to share this story with my students at my October class.
Lewis Hales
well give them some carrots! :) good job bunnies!!! we appreciate your contribution...but i'm guessing humans are going to go ahead and take over the digging...i hope that if they need to be relocated while the dig is going on, someone will do so with care...not just kick them out of the area.
love, light and blessings
AB
It's not the first time are bunny friends have helped some area under protection have also helped uncover items that archaeologists have not been allowed to dig for.... three cheers for them....