Amateur archaeologist Ludovic McLellan Mann made a remarkable discovery of woolly rhinoceros bones near the River Kelvin in 1932. The bones, dating back 27,500 years, shed light on the prehistoric presence of these giant creatures in Scotland.
A Glaswegian insurance broker and amateur archaeologist made an incredible discovery in the clay near the River Kelvin. Ludovic McLellan Mann, born in Langside, carried out small-scale amateur archaeological digs around Glasgow and Ayrshire when he wasn’t working as a chartered accountant and insurance broker. During one such dig in August 1932, Mann was sifting through the red clay close to the River Kelvin just north of Bishopbriggs, when he discovered the ice age bones of woolly rhino ceros.
The huge beasts were more than 11ft long, over 5ft tall, weighed more than two tons, and were covered in long reddish-brown fur. The bones were later carbon-dated and found to be 27,500 years old, despite being found just 18 inches below the surface. The rhinos once roamed the glaciers of Scotland and other parts of northern Europe, with specimens found as far away as Siberia. In all, four specimens were found at Bishopbriggs. A woolly rhino tooth and part of a leg bone found by Mann during the dig were donated to Kelvingrove Museum in 1947, and can now be viewed as part of the ‘Creatures of the Past’ exhibit. Mann initially believed the leg bone had been fashioned into a ‘shoe-horn type’ tool, according to his original illustrations, also held at the museum. Mann wrote: “Out of this bone the Palaeolithic craftsman has fashioned a smoothing tool. He bisected the shaft by a well-calculated oblique cut and dressed slightly the condyles to serve as a hand-grasp. “The length, width, and thickness of the tool were adjusted so as to fit into the scheme of ancient craftsmen’s measurements.” Ann Ainsworth, Curator of Geology at Glasgow Life Museums, said Mann’s theory of the bone being fashioned into a tool was “quickly disputed”, with there being 'a lively correspondence lasting some months” about the idea in local newspapers at the tim
Archaeology Paleontology Woolly Rhino Scotland Discovery
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