UK Mammoth Site to be Quarried for Trophy Finds?

The exploitation of the British historical record for "collectables, and ***k the stratigraphy" goes on (Dalya Alberge, 'UK experts fear losing access to ice age mammoths Cotswolds site to UAE' The Observer Sat 5 Aug 2023)

Leading British archaeologists and palaeontologists are warning that one of the nation’s most significant palaeolithic sites is under threat because there is not enough legislation to protect it. They are calling for changes to the law amid fears that crucial evidence at a site in the Cotswolds could be lost to the UK for ever. It was there that ice-age mammoths in an extraordinary state of preservation were discovered, sparking excitement in 2021 [...] Now, just as the foremost specialists from universities and national museums were preparing to return – having pursued necessary grants – they have found themselves barred by the quarry owner [...] Hills Quarry Products [...] Now the Observer has seen an 18 July email sent by Hills Quarry Products to DigVentures telling them that access to the site “will no longer be available” and that they are “formally requesting” the return of finds [...] Sources within the archaeological community told the Observer that their understanding was that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may be linked to the latest developments, perhaps hoping to acquire further mammoth remains and Jurassic fossils for the new Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been acquiring exhibits, reportedly buying a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton for $31.8m in 2022. The Observer approached the UAE Department of Culture and Tourism for comment. The company that owns the site, Hills Quarry Products, turned down a request for comment.

 Well, that's pretty incredible considering that socking big extraction pits dug for their own profit by quarry companies are hugely environmentally damaging, and quarry companies should be focussed on showing they are doing everything they can to mitigate their impact. It seems this report is implying that the Arabs can offer them more money than Britain can, so the material coming out of the ground will be packed up and sent off to a foreign museum. How does it feel to be the victim of colonialism, Britain? It seems the archaeologists are not without guilt here, before work started, there should have been (and it seems from these developments that there cannot have been) a robust agreement as to the fate of any material dug up and worked on as a result of the project.

Anyway, Britain cocks it up again when it comes to collectable items. It is worth mentioning that the 1970 UNESCO Convention does allow palaeontological material to be protected... but Britain has to enact the law doing that, and it hasn't. Got a new TREASURE law though, eh? 

 Hat tip Dave Coward.