A teenage boy who found a massive fossil on a British beach has discovered it's a 6,000-year-old auroch horn - after initially thinking it was just a piece of driftwood.
After realising it was a fossil, Archie Wood, 13, who made the discovery while metal detecting, thought it might be a mammoth tusk.
But experts have now revealed the fossil, dug up on Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an ancient cow called an auroch which roamed forests during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
'Driftwood' found by schoolboy, 13, in East Sussex turns out to be a 6,000-year-old auroch horn
Archie Wood, 13, found the horn while metal detecting in Bexhill, East Sussex
Experts revealed the fossil probably belonged to the ancestor of modern cows
Auroch lived for more than 250,000 years across Europe and died out in 1627
It could be linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed in Britain
It is worth £120-£140 ($158-$185) but Archie has donated it to Bexhill Museum
By Phoebe Weston For Mailonline
16 November 2017
A teenage boy who found a massive fossil on a British beach has discovered it's a 6,000-year-old auroch horn - after initially thinking it was just a piece of driftwood.
After realising it was a fossil, Archie Wood, 13, who made the discovery while metal detecting, thought it might be a mammoth tusk.
But experts have now revealed the fossil, dug up on Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an ancient cow called an auroch which roamed forests during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
Archie Wood, 13, thought he'd found a mammoth tusk when he made the discovery while metal detecting but it turns out it is a horn from an ancient cow called an auroch
Archie's grandfather Neil Wood said: 'He was so excited, he couldn't believe what he was digging up.
'He saw it sticking out the sand. He pulled out this enormous tusk.'
He said the family sought help from experts on the Isle of Wight after initially guessing it was a mammoth tusk.
Mr Wood added: 'They are big into fossils there.
'When we went into the museum we saw identical fossils in a skull in a display cabinet and we thought "That's it".
'Then we went to Jurassic Jim. He looked at the photo and said "That's definitely a Bos bison".'
Museum experts believe more specifically it is an auroch, a giant wild cow or bison which roamed Europe for more than 250,000 years.
Julian Porter, of Bexhill Museum, told MailOnline: 'We're absolutely delighted with Archie's find'.
The museum has got in touch with the Natural History Museum about it and are awaiting confirmation of the find.
The new find is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain.
'It would have been a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age forest that certainly would have had auroch charging around it', said Mr Porter.
In low water you can see tree stumps and branches from this ancient woodland that would have been around between 4,000-6,000 years ago.
His family called in experts who have now revealed the fossil (pictured), dug up in Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an auroch
Museum experts believe it is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain
'It's the sort of thing that we assumed living in the forest but we didn't have hard evidence', he said.
'We had found domestic horse remains, cattle bones, wolf bones and indeed human bones as well, which are quite tame in comparison to Archie's find', he said.
The horn is worth about £120-£140 ($158-$185), but after a lot of deliberation Archie decided to donate it to the museum.
Auroch are the ancestors of modern cattle and European bison (pictured). The horn is worth about £120-£140 ($158-$185), but after a lot of deliberation Archie decided to donate it to the museum
The new find is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain near Bexhill (pictured)
'We made contact with Bexhill Museum, and now it's on display with his name next to it. They are over the moon', said Mr Wood.
'It would have been an impressive animal. I suspect that, because of the size of the horn, it would have been a male, but I could be wrong', said Mr Porter.
'At the moment we think Archie's find could be from the Bronze Age, but somebody might tell us different.
'It really was so good of him to report it and bring it in so everyone can enjoy it. Hopefull,y the love of history he has will stay with him', he said.
Archie's family sought help from experts on the Isle of Wight after initially guessing it was a mammoth tusk. Archie is pictured with Daryl Holter, a Heritage Crime Officer from Sussex
WHEN DID AUROCHS DIE OUT?
Aurochs lived for more than 250,000 years across Europe.
They were an impressive animal and an icon of ancient Europe, being recorded in the cave paintings of ancient man in Lascaux, France, for example.
Later, in an ancient Greek myth, the god Zeus seduced the virgin Europa in the form of an auroch.
But they died out in 1627 because of habitat loss and overhunting.
Humans converted vast swathes of wild grassland to farmland and the last population was forced into a Polish forest.
The herd was protected by the royal family until the last one died and, for more than a century, they tried to save the species by paying locals to feed them, for example.
However, this wildlife conservation effort was thwarted by political instability and cattle diseases.
Read more: 'Driftwood' found in East Sussex is in fact an auroch horn | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
After realising it was a fossil, Archie Wood, 13, who made the discovery while metal detecting, thought it might be a mammoth tusk.
But experts have now revealed the fossil, dug up on Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an ancient cow called an auroch which roamed forests during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
'Driftwood' found by schoolboy, 13, in East Sussex turns out to be a 6,000-year-old auroch horn
Archie Wood, 13, found the horn while metal detecting in Bexhill, East Sussex
Experts revealed the fossil probably belonged to the ancestor of modern cows
Auroch lived for more than 250,000 years across Europe and died out in 1627
It could be linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed in Britain
It is worth £120-£140 ($158-$185) but Archie has donated it to Bexhill Museum
By Phoebe Weston For Mailonline
16 November 2017
A teenage boy who found a massive fossil on a British beach has discovered it's a 6,000-year-old auroch horn - after initially thinking it was just a piece of driftwood.
After realising it was a fossil, Archie Wood, 13, who made the discovery while metal detecting, thought it might be a mammoth tusk.
But experts have now revealed the fossil, dug up on Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an ancient cow called an auroch which roamed forests during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
Archie Wood, 13, thought he'd found a mammoth tusk when he made the discovery while metal detecting but it turns out it is a horn from an ancient cow called an auroch
Archie's grandfather Neil Wood said: 'He was so excited, he couldn't believe what he was digging up.
'He saw it sticking out the sand. He pulled out this enormous tusk.'
He said the family sought help from experts on the Isle of Wight after initially guessing it was a mammoth tusk.
Mr Wood added: 'They are big into fossils there.
'When we went into the museum we saw identical fossils in a skull in a display cabinet and we thought "That's it".
'Then we went to Jurassic Jim. He looked at the photo and said "That's definitely a Bos bison".'
Museum experts believe more specifically it is an auroch, a giant wild cow or bison which roamed Europe for more than 250,000 years.
Julian Porter, of Bexhill Museum, told MailOnline: 'We're absolutely delighted with Archie's find'.
The museum has got in touch with the Natural History Museum about it and are awaiting confirmation of the find.
The new find is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain.
'It would have been a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age forest that certainly would have had auroch charging around it', said Mr Porter.
In low water you can see tree stumps and branches from this ancient woodland that would have been around between 4,000-6,000 years ago.
His family called in experts who have now revealed the fossil (pictured), dug up in Bexhill beach, East Sussex, probably belonged to an auroch
Museum experts believe it is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain
'It's the sort of thing that we assumed living in the forest but we didn't have hard evidence', he said.
'We had found domestic horse remains, cattle bones, wolf bones and indeed human bones as well, which are quite tame in comparison to Archie's find', he said.
The horn is worth about £120-£140 ($158-$185), but after a lot of deliberation Archie decided to donate it to the museum.
Auroch are the ancestors of modern cattle and European bison (pictured). The horn is worth about £120-£140 ($158-$185), but after a lot of deliberation Archie decided to donate it to the museum
The new find is part of a string of discoveries linked to a prehistoric forest ecosystem which once existed on the south east coast of Britain near Bexhill (pictured)
'We made contact with Bexhill Museum, and now it's on display with his name next to it. They are over the moon', said Mr Wood.
'It would have been an impressive animal. I suspect that, because of the size of the horn, it would have been a male, but I could be wrong', said Mr Porter.
'At the moment we think Archie's find could be from the Bronze Age, but somebody might tell us different.
'It really was so good of him to report it and bring it in so everyone can enjoy it. Hopefull,y the love of history he has will stay with him', he said.
Archie's family sought help from experts on the Isle of Wight after initially guessing it was a mammoth tusk. Archie is pictured with Daryl Holter, a Heritage Crime Officer from Sussex
WHEN DID AUROCHS DIE OUT?
Aurochs lived for more than 250,000 years across Europe.
They were an impressive animal and an icon of ancient Europe, being recorded in the cave paintings of ancient man in Lascaux, France, for example.
Later, in an ancient Greek myth, the god Zeus seduced the virgin Europa in the form of an auroch.
But they died out in 1627 because of habitat loss and overhunting.
Humans converted vast swathes of wild grassland to farmland and the last population was forced into a Polish forest.
The herd was protected by the royal family until the last one died and, for more than a century, they tried to save the species by paying locals to feed them, for example.
However, this wildlife conservation effort was thwarted by political instability and cattle diseases.
Read more: 'Driftwood' found in East Sussex is in fact an auroch horn | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook