A University of Chester graduate’s career has taken a remarkable turn as his educational archaeology company has identified a ‘goldmine’ at Land’s End, dug up not by his team, but by a colony of rabbits.
A University of Chester graduate’s career has taken a remarkable turn as his educational archaeology company has identified a ‘goldmine’ at Land’s End, dug up not by his team, but by a colony of rabbits.
Dean Paton’s Big Heritage business was invited to the site, which has long been connected in Cornish folklore to the stories of the lost land of Lyonnese and with tales of King Arthur, to investigate a recent discovery which has shed light on some of the earliest humans to call the site home.
Dean, who studied Archaeology at the University, explained: “Land’s End staff member Eddie Williams had affectionately ‘adopted’ a family of wild rabbits who had created a network of burrows near the site’s Greeb Farm attraction, but he soon noticed it wasn’t just soil being unearthed by the rabbits, but a series of curious flint objects which he decided to collect.
“Big Heritage was invited to the site to investigate further, and we found that Eddie’s finds were a collection of flint scrapers and arrowheads dating back at least 5,000 years!”
The find led to a thorough archaeological investigation of the land uncovering an Iron Age hill fort, a Bronze Age barrow cemetery, a Neolithic passage grave and a series of Iron Age field-systems; all evidence of humans being attracted to Land’s End for thousands of years.
Dean, from Bromborough in Wirral, said: “It’s amazing how a family of rabbits have set in motion an incredible journey of discovery. Within the immediate vicinity of Land’s End, we were able to see a visible time-line of Britain, stretching deep into pre-history.
“As a site famous for having the ‘first and last house’ and a ‘first and last inn’ – we’ve been able to add the first and last hill fort and cemetery! Whilst the landscape will have changed considerably over time, it’s likely that the stunning natural beauty of the site would have always been significant to humans.”
Alice Reynolds, Marketing Manager at Land’s End, added: “Thousands of people visit Land’s End each year to witness our amazing views and the rare natural habitats we preserve. We’re so excited to add heritage to this list, and are putting plans in place to ensure we can help to preserve the archaeology of our site, but also share it with both tourists and local communities.”
Big Heritage is now working closely with Land’s End to create a series of attractions, new interpretation boards and school activities – including an ‘archaeo-bunnies’ trail to inspire budding young archaeologists to discover the past in much the same way as the real-life archaeo-bunnies at Land’s End.
Contributing Source : University of Chester
