Horace the ELK

The name Elkmere comes from an important part of history, as well as from my local community.

If you don't know the story of Horace the Elk, a huge skeleton was found in the 70's during building work. Which after much excavation, turned out to be of an Elk dating back over 13500 years ago.

Elks are a prize kill providing lots of food, clothing, weapons and also solitary animals. Unlike mammoths, who live in herds. This makes it a good target for hunters. Whilst excavating the skeleton, they also found a barbed spearhead fashioned from flint. It is thought the hunter will of thrown the spear into the ribs of the elk. The elk then ran off to safety but unfortunately got stuck in a boggy lake or mere, which is where he then died. The remains were then swallowed by the thick mud, preserving the skeleton and barbed head for over 13000 years. 

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Horace is important to history as it shows the earliest evidence of humans in North West England. Horace had 17 injuries evident on the skeleton, mostly caused by flint tipped weapons. He was attacked from both sides with spears aimed at his chest. He also survived an attack a few weeks earlier, perhaps by the same hunters tracking him, as a lesion in his foot from a barbed point would have taken a few weeks to form.

He may of ended up in the mere taking refuge in the water or may of been chased into the water. But this explains why his skeleton had remained intact as the hunters couldn't retrieve the body.

The skeleton is on display in the Harris Museum and stands around 2m high with a possible weight of 700kg. He was 4 to 6 years old and died in winter as he was due to shed his antlers. 

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Now on to the Alcohol

 

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