Flipping amazing! Father-of-four discovers 8,000-year-old dolphin while digging a pool in his back garden

• Paul McDonald, 44, uncovered the prehistoric skeleton at his home in Stirling
• It had been preserved in clay at around 80cm below ground level 

A man digging a swimming pool in his back garden has discovered the 8,000-year-old bones of a dolphin, in what archaeologists have called ‘the find of a lifetime’.

Paul McDonald, 44, uncovered the prehistoric skeleton at his home in Stirling, where it had been preserved in clay at around 80cm below ground level.

Mr McDonald, who works with bones himself as a medical representative in orthopaedics, said: ‘It’s mind-blowing.

‘We bought the house six years ago and I’ve found a few old bottles and coins, but I’ve always wanted to find something like this.’

His home is miles from the sea, but it is believed the dolphin washed up when the area was part of a shoreline some time after the last Ice Age and was eaten by hunter-gatherers.

Paul McDonald, 44, uncovered the prehistoric skeleton at his home in Stirling, where it had been preserved in clay at around 80cm below ground level

A broken tool made from deer antler, which would have been used to carve the meat, was found among the bones.

Mr McDonald, a father of four, said: ‘I saw the roundness of the skull, the snout and teeth, and I knew it was a dolphin.

At that depth I knew it must be old.’

The skull has been removed by National Museums Scotland (NMS) so that it can be analysed, and the rest of the skeleton will be fully excavated.

Andrew Kitchener, the principal curator of vertebrates at NMS, said: ‘I’ve been at NMS for 35 years and this is the first time something has emerged from the clay like this. It’s an important find. It seems like it’s a stranded animal that has been preserved all this time until Paul uncovered it, which is kind of a miracle.

Mr McDonald’s home is miles from the sea, but it is believed the dolphin washed up when the area was part of a shoreline some time after the last Ice Age and was eaten by hunter-gatherers (Stock image)

‘It’s fairly small so possibly a female, and its teeth are worn which suggests it’s an older animal.’

Although the bones are owned by Mr McDonald, the antler tool may be declared treasure, so he could be in line for a reward.

Stirling archaeologist Dr Murray Cook said that the discovery could be the first of its kind in Scotland in more than a century.

The last whale bones found near Stirling were uncovered in 1897 but there are no recent records of dolphin discoveries.

Mr McDonald’s wife, Julianne, 42, said: ‘Only Paul could find a dolphin in a half-dug pool.’

Source: Read Full Article