While walking his dog on a beach in the northwestern part of Wales, a man picked up an unusual piece of the debris. Little did he know that what he was holding at the time was a 3,000 year old horn from an extinct type of wild cattle.
Derfel Hughes, an engineer from Rhos Isaf in Wales, didn't think he'd find a valuable scientific discovery while going out on a walk. The horn that Hughes picked up was from a type of cattle known as aurochs.
"Finding it was a total fluke. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but I now tend to look out for things more when I go for a walk," said Hughes.
The aurochs is an extinct type of wild cattle that is considered as one of the ancestors of modern domestic cattle. Unlike most modern cows however, an aurochs would have been much larger. An aurochs bull stood at a height of 61 to 71 inches at the shoulders while weighing around 1,500 lb. Aurochs were also known for their massive horns, which would have dwarfed the horns of a modern bull.
Aurochs were known to inhabit parts of North Africa, Asia and Europe but they became extinct some time during the Bronze Age.
Hughes picked up the horn at the Dinas Dinlle Beach located in the vicinity of Caernarfon.
"I went walking at Dinas Dinlle after the big storms in February, and came across what I thought was a piece of driftwood," said Hughes. "When I looked closer, I thought it might be a tusk, like one you would find on an elephant."
When Hughes first found the horn, he initially thought it was a piece of driftwood. After a closer inspection however, he knew he had some type of horn or tusk. Hughes then sought the help of scientists from the National Museum Wales to identify the mysterious object.
"They think it's between 3,000 and 3,500 years old. At that time, they think Dinas Dinlle would have been grazing land and the aurochs would have grazed there," Hughes said. "This animal could have died on marshy ground and its remains were uncovered in the storm."
Following Hughes interesting discovery of the ancient horn, the Rhos Isaf engineer donated the horn to the Greenwood Forest Park with the hope that it would go on display sometime in the future.
"I thought it would be a shame to keep it at home and for people not to see it."
