Boy's tooth find reveals bronze age burial mound on Lizard Point

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq587n8e9v4o

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Arthur thought he had found a shark tooth

A boy who found what he thought was a shark tooth has led to the discovery of a bronze age human burial site.

Arthur, aged seven, found the tooth when he visited Lizard Point and showed it to Ken Wallace, who volunteers for the National Trust at the site.

Mr Wallace, a retired dentist, recognised the tooth to be human which, after a police inquiry, was agreed to be an archaeological find.

National Trust archaeologist Jim Parry is carrying out work at the site - which the trust said was a prehistoric burial mound or "barrow" created some 4,450 years ago - and said he had found fragments of jaw bones, teeth and a skull of at least one individual.

Mr Parry said the mound had already eroded because of man-made and natural processes and would continue to do so due to its coastal location.

He said: "In this case, we will record as much as we can before it's lost and, hopefully in the near future, return to the site to excavate a wider area to fully understand the scale and nature of the monument in which the remains were buried, with its glorious vistas from the southernmost point of the British mainland."

Mr Parry said he had found fragments of teeth and bones in the mound

The National Trust said the remains were due to be sent to an osteoarchaeologist, a specialist in human remains, for detailed analysis.

A sample would also be sent for radiocarbon dating, the charity added.

The National Trust says the remains will be sent to an osteoarchaeologist

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