cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/1032214

Leading British archaeologists and palaeontologists are warning that one of the nation’s most significant palaeolithic sites is under threat because there is not enough legislation to protect it.

They are calling for changes to the law amid fears that crucial evidence at a site in the Cotswolds could be lost to the UK for ever.

It was there that ice-age mammoths in an extraordinary state of preservation were discovered, sparking excitement in 2021 from Sir David Attenborough and other experts.

The extensive remains of at least one juvenile, two young adult and six fully grown adult mammoths that roamed 200,000 years ago were unearthed at Cerney Wick, near Swindon, along with tools used by Neanderthals, who probably hunted these enormous beasts.

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Sources within the archaeological community told the Observer that their understanding was that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may be linked to the latest developments, perhaps hoping to acquire further mammoth remains and Jurassic fossils for the new Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been acquiring exhibits, reportedly buying a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton for $31.8m in 2022.

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A drone photograph taken last Sunday suggests that the waterlogged quarry has been drained in advance of what some archaeologists fear will be a rushed search for finds.