A father who was digging a duck pond in a back garden discovered the remains of an ancient grey wolf.
Simon Ferguson and his sons Richard and Adam came across the fully preserved skeleton 11 feet beneath Richard and Adam's back lawn in Thornton-Cleveleys, near the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire.
Experts have now said the skeleton is up to 20,000 years old, meaning the wolf lived before the building of the pyramids and Stonehenge.
Builder making duck pond for his two children in the back garden digs up fully preserved skeleton of 20,000-year-old wolf
Father and sons digging up garden in Lancashire when they found bones
They feared it could be human remains, but later found out it was a wolf
Experts have dated the animal to between 10,000-20,000 years old
The family is now set to dedicate the ancient skeleton to a museum
By Richard Spillett for MailOnline
20 May 2015
Daily Mail
Simon Ferguson was digging a hole for a duck pond when he and his sons found the ancient bones
A builder who was making a duck pond in a back garden has dug up the 20,000-year-old skeleton of a pre-historic wolf.
Simon Ferguson and his sons Richard, 12, and Adam, 10, were digging a hole for the water feature at the boys' home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
They were shocked to see the fangs of an animal emerge from the clay 11-feet beneath their back lawn and went on to find a complete set of bones.
Experts have now said the skeleton is up to 20,000 years old, meaning the wolf lived before the building of the pyramids and Stonehenge.
Mr Ferguson said: 'We came came across one bone and then came across another and another.
'It was on its side. This type of clay had preserved the bones. When it was in the ground it looked really impressive. You don't expect to find something like this on a housing estate.
'When we saw it in the ground the skull looked absolutely unbelievable, it looked pre-historic. The teeth and fangs were all in place.
I had dug about 11 ft down and the boys pointed it out. Straightaway we could tell it was old. It was completely intact.'
He added: 'I always knew these bones were going to be old but not 20,000 years. I have dug up bones before but they don't tend to be very old. You don't expect to find much.
'I'd moved about 200 tonnes of soil and I had found glass bottles that were about 150-200 years old.'
The grey wolf became extinct in England in around 1500AD after being hunted out of existence.
The one found by Mr Ferguson is believed to have been the size of a Labrador and had been approximately three-years-old when it died.
At the time the animal lived there was no Irish Sea
At the time the wolf lived Britain and Ireland were joined together. There was no Irish Sea
Mr Ferguson added: 'Even 10,000 years-old predates the Egyptians and the pyramids. There was no sea and we were joined to Ireland so this would have just been marshland.
'We have decided to donate it to a museum because if no-one donated things then we wouldn't have museums.
'Not many have been found in this country. They have only found one or two which makes it different and the fact that it is almost complete.'
The family uncovered this skeleton of a grey wolf which has been dated at up to 20,000 years old
Mr Ferguson's sons Richard, 12, and Adam, 10, have taken the amazing find into show and tell at school
The discovery was made in the garden of former partner Susan Arthurs, 42.
She said: 'We were speechless when we found out how old it was. We had stopped for a brew and the kids spotted something and started digging further, there were just some bones showing. I originally thought it could be human bones.
'It was in a funny position on its side. As they started going down the kids kept bringing up more bones and we extended the search. It was exciting and the kids were loving it. We didn't know what it was going to be. It was immaculate it even looked like it had skin on it it was that good.'
Ms Arthurs, who has lived in the house for 20 years, said that before the housing development was built the area was just land.
She admitted that she had initially thought that the bones could be something sinister and had thought to call the police.
But as they pulled out the bones and dusted them off realised that they were in fact animal and not human remains.
The bones were preserved in clay around 11 feet under the garden in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
The jaws of the animal, which was made extinct in Britain by hunting around 500 years ago, can still be clearly seen
'We put them on a piece of paper and Googled what they could be. I'm glad I didn't ring the police because that would have been a bit premature,' Ms Arthurs said.
She added: 'In a different area we had found glass bottles and pebbles and stone from the beach but this section was pure clay and it was the clay that preserved the bones so well.
'From the blue virgin clay we could determine that they were old. We did't know whether it was a dog but the Manchester Museum verified that it was a wolf. Richard said he wished it was a dinosaur. We don't know how it died.'
The family are now going to donate their discovery - which is 92% complete - to the Manchester Museum after Adam took it in to show classmates for show and tell.
Stuart Noon, finds liaison officer for Portable Antiquities Scheme based in Lancashire said the wolf skeleton was a 'fantastic specimen' and added: 'It is definitely a prehistoric grey wolf, known as a timber wolf, and it is between 10,000 and 20,000 years old.'
The family initially thought the bones were human remains, but later found out it was an ancient grey wolf
Simon Ferguson and his sons Richard and Adam came across the fully preserved skeleton 11 feet beneath Richard and Adam's back lawn in Thornton-Cleveleys, near the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire.
Experts have now said the skeleton is up to 20,000 years old, meaning the wolf lived before the building of the pyramids and Stonehenge.
Builder making duck pond for his two children in the back garden digs up fully preserved skeleton of 20,000-year-old wolf
Father and sons digging up garden in Lancashire when they found bones
They feared it could be human remains, but later found out it was a wolf
Experts have dated the animal to between 10,000-20,000 years old
The family is now set to dedicate the ancient skeleton to a museum
By Richard Spillett for MailOnline
20 May 2015
Daily Mail
Simon Ferguson was digging a hole for a duck pond when he and his sons found the ancient bones
A builder who was making a duck pond in a back garden has dug up the 20,000-year-old skeleton of a pre-historic wolf.
Simon Ferguson and his sons Richard, 12, and Adam, 10, were digging a hole for the water feature at the boys' home in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
They were shocked to see the fangs of an animal emerge from the clay 11-feet beneath their back lawn and went on to find a complete set of bones.
Experts have now said the skeleton is up to 20,000 years old, meaning the wolf lived before the building of the pyramids and Stonehenge.
Mr Ferguson said: 'We came came across one bone and then came across another and another.
'It was on its side. This type of clay had preserved the bones. When it was in the ground it looked really impressive. You don't expect to find something like this on a housing estate.
'When we saw it in the ground the skull looked absolutely unbelievable, it looked pre-historic. The teeth and fangs were all in place.
I had dug about 11 ft down and the boys pointed it out. Straightaway we could tell it was old. It was completely intact.'
He added: 'I always knew these bones were going to be old but not 20,000 years. I have dug up bones before but they don't tend to be very old. You don't expect to find much.
'I'd moved about 200 tonnes of soil and I had found glass bottles that were about 150-200 years old.'
The grey wolf became extinct in England in around 1500AD after being hunted out of existence.
The one found by Mr Ferguson is believed to have been the size of a Labrador and had been approximately three-years-old when it died.
At the time the animal lived there was no Irish Sea
At the time the wolf lived Britain and Ireland were joined together. There was no Irish Sea
Mr Ferguson added: 'Even 10,000 years-old predates the Egyptians and the pyramids. There was no sea and we were joined to Ireland so this would have just been marshland.
'We have decided to donate it to a museum because if no-one donated things then we wouldn't have museums.
'Not many have been found in this country. They have only found one or two which makes it different and the fact that it is almost complete.'
The family uncovered this skeleton of a grey wolf which has been dated at up to 20,000 years old
Mr Ferguson's sons Richard, 12, and Adam, 10, have taken the amazing find into show and tell at school
The discovery was made in the garden of former partner Susan Arthurs, 42.
She said: 'We were speechless when we found out how old it was. We had stopped for a brew and the kids spotted something and started digging further, there were just some bones showing. I originally thought it could be human bones.
'It was in a funny position on its side. As they started going down the kids kept bringing up more bones and we extended the search. It was exciting and the kids were loving it. We didn't know what it was going to be. It was immaculate it even looked like it had skin on it it was that good.'
Ms Arthurs, who has lived in the house for 20 years, said that before the housing development was built the area was just land.
She admitted that she had initially thought that the bones could be something sinister and had thought to call the police.
But as they pulled out the bones and dusted them off realised that they were in fact animal and not human remains.
The bones were preserved in clay around 11 feet under the garden in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
The jaws of the animal, which was made extinct in Britain by hunting around 500 years ago, can still be clearly seen
'We put them on a piece of paper and Googled what they could be. I'm glad I didn't ring the police because that would have been a bit premature,' Ms Arthurs said.
She added: 'In a different area we had found glass bottles and pebbles and stone from the beach but this section was pure clay and it was the clay that preserved the bones so well.
'From the blue virgin clay we could determine that they were old. We did't know whether it was a dog but the Manchester Museum verified that it was a wolf. Richard said he wished it was a dinosaur. We don't know how it died.'
The family are now going to donate their discovery - which is 92% complete - to the Manchester Museum after Adam took it in to show classmates for show and tell.
Stuart Noon, finds liaison officer for Portable Antiquities Scheme based in Lancashire said the wolf skeleton was a 'fantastic specimen' and added: 'It is definitely a prehistoric grey wolf, known as a timber wolf, and it is between 10,000 and 20,000 years old.'
The family initially thought the bones were human remains, but later found out it was an ancient grey wolf
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