‘Mammoth’s penis’ found on north Norfolk coast

The phallus-shaped fossil was found on the same stretch of coastline where the skeleton of a mammoth was discovered 27 years ago. Picture: ROBERT MEE/NMSA/SIMON BAMBER ROBERT MEE/NMSA/SIMON BAMBER

An amateur metal detector got the internet talking with his unusual find.

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The phallus-shaped fossil was found on the same stretch of coastline where the skeleton of a mammoth was discovered 27 years ago. Picture: ROBERT MEE/NORFOLK FOSSIL FINDS/FACEBOOK The phallus-shaped fossil was found on the same stretch of coastline where the skeleton of a mammoth was discovered 27 years ago. Picture: ROBERT MEE/NORFOLK FOSSIL FINDS/FACEBOOK

An amateur metal detector got the internet talking with an unusual find in north Norfolk.

Robert Mee unearthed a phallus-shaped fossil on the same stretch of coastline where the skeleton of a mammoth was discovered 27 years ago - prompting claims it is a mammoth penis.

He made the discovery following a visit to Hunstanton - just 30 miles from where the West Runton mammoth, which last walked on the Norfolk coast more than 700,000 years ago and is often referred to as an elephant, was found.

Mr Mee shared a snap of his find on a social media page for fossil hunters in Norfolk and appealed for help to identify it.

An illustration of the West Runton elephant. NORFOLK MUSEUMS SERVICE An illustration of the West Runton elephant. NORFOLK MUSEUMS SERVICE

Commenting on the post, Aylmerton Field Study Centre trainee instructor Niall Thorogood, who found a baby mammoth tooth on West Runton Beach in April, said: “Odd shape.”

Richard Rockett said: “It looks like a fossilised phallus.”

Alison Cramp added: “Elephant penis?”

Some experts have dismissed it as a trace fossil, such as faeces left behind by animals, rather than the preserved remains of the body of the actual animal itself.

Robert Mee unveiled the unusual discovery following a visit to Hunstanton beach. Picture: SIMON BAMBER Robert Mee unveiled the unusual discovery following a visit to Hunstanton beach. Picture: SIMON BAMBER

Over the past 27 years north Norfolk’s eroding coastline has yielded up scores of prehistoric treasures including the oldest human footprints found outside Africa, and the most complete skeleton of a mammoth anywhere in the world.

Work has begun on branding a stretch from West Runton to Happisburgh as the Deep History Coast, reflecting its global importance in the story of life on earth.