GIANT OF THE VALLEY

Manawatu Times, Volume XL, Issue 13209, 28 September 1915, Page 2

GIANT OF THE VALLEY

Under the directions of the officials of the British Museum, excavations are being made on Government land near Upnor, Chatham, with the object of securing intact the skeleton of a great mammoth, which had by chance been partially exposed during seme digging operations there. Dr. Andrews, who is in charge of the museum staff, has yet to determine whether the bones belong to the mammoth or the elephus antiqus. The teeth atone will fnrnish the necessary evidence on this point, and the portion of earth where the skull lies embedded has not yet been delved in except so far as to disclose the presence of a tusk measuring some 9ft in length. The remains were discovered in fluite an accidental manner by men Who were digging on the slope. '' We have had isolated bones of the species in England before, '' said Dr A nlrftwH, *4 he stood, in his shirtsleeves, superintending the work of his assistants, "bat never associated to the extent that these are. Indication* up to the present point to the •creature having stood over 13ft high, and, if it is a mammoth, it will be ®np of the biggest ever found." la excavating the bones the greatest care has to be exerciaed, and as eafchv-is uncovered it is cased in plaster of paris and removed to a building near by. The man responsible for this part of the work is a specialist from the museum, and with him are two labourers, one of whom told me that it required four persons to lift some of H»e bones, such as the shulder blade, o>< to a truck. It is rather remarkable tlmt the mammoth should have so long remained undiscovered, as digging on the hill is frequent, and the constructors of a light railway passed within a few feet of the spot in their course. —Lloyd's Weekly.