Saturday 13 December 2014

Wolf's skull


A friend of mine's son was wading around in a stream in the Peak District when he found this - what he thought to be a dog's skull - and he brought it home with him.

Research showed it to be a Wolf's skull.

Further research still showed it to be a medieval Wolf's skull, because Wolves - apparently - died out there in the 15th century.

I know the last British Wolf to be shot in Britain was killed in Scotland somewhere around the mid-nineteenth century, but I don't think that this one wandered down as far as Derbyshire, though they can wander quite far on a cold, snowy night. Usually, around a hundred mile round-trip in deep snow is their maximum when really hungry.

It is now in my custody, and that involves doing further research still, so I can sell it at best price in order to help finance my friend's son's passage through university.

If it is - as everything indicates - a remarkably well preserved Wolf's skull dating from late 1400s England, then this is a rare thing indeed.

I am looking forward to getting to know it over the next month or two.



26 comments:

  1. Sad they died out there. They still live in the States, but ranchers shoot them and coyotes regularly.

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    1. There is talk of reintroducing them up in Scotland, but the sheep farmers aren't too happy about the idea.

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  2. Fantastic photo; the light making shadows of those teeth make it even more sinister. Good researches to you.

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    1. I think I might begin with the Natural History Museum of London.

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  3. Look at those teeth - all the better to eat you with my dear.

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    1. I was just about to say the same thing to you, my dear...

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  4. Very, very cool! I wish I had found it.

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  5. Clever conservationists reintroduced wolves into the Pyrenees a few years back; I think they'd been imported from some soviet bloc country. Of course the wolves needed to eat, so they killed sheep and lambs. As a result the local farmers shot them all.

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    1. My German friend told me that a small pack of Wolves have been spotted in the outskirts of Bremerhaven, his home town. Previously they would not have got through border-control. There is now a big debate about whether to kill them or let them be.

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  6. Very cool indeed! And the research will be interesting.

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  7. Are you keeping it by the bedside? You can get to know it when you wake up in the night and have a chat with it. Your buddy, wolf head.


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    1. Yes, it could impart ancient wisdom to me as I sleep.

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    2. I doubt it could penetrate your hard exterior.

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    3. Maybe not without its bottom set.

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  8. Wonderful - what an incredible find - hope it sells well.

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    1. It ought to - American resin replicas sell for about $200 each.

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  9. UPDATE:

    My first bit of research tells me that wolves carried on in remote parts of the North until the early 19th century, so this skull is more likely to be Georgian rather than Medieval. It's still pretty old though.

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  10. It's incredibly well-preserved. What a great find!

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