Latest news with #skull
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
New twist in mystery of ‘UNICORN' skull found near King Arthur's castle as officials warn it was removed ILLEGALLY
A 'UNICORN' skull found near King Arthur's castle was removed illegally, officials warned. The Sun told how the mysterious fake object was spotted by Canadian tourist John Goodwin, 46, in Cornwall last weekend. 2 But now it has emerged the skull was taken from a Site of Specific Scientific Interest — at St Nectan's Glen in Tintagel. Anyone removing items from an SSSI can be fined or imprisoned. Zooarchaeologists from Historic England last night said the skull belonged to a horse — but it had a cow's horn attached. It said: 'It does look very well made.' John traded it for beer at a pub and is now on holiday in Greece before flying home. A barman at the Stonehenge Inn, Wilts, is looking after the skull. The manager said: 'He took it home, it was freaking me out here. 'I'm sure he'll happily to return it." Mysterious 'UNICORN' skull found near King Arthur's castle 2
The Sun
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Mystery of ‘unicorn' skull unearthed at King Arthur's castle deepens as new detail emerges
A FADED signature has been found on the bone of a 'unicorn' skull found at King Arthur's castle. It is thought the extraordinary object was expertly fabricated and buried near Tintagel in Cornwall by a prankster. 3 3 It is impossible to make out the scrawl which appears to be a signature but possibly reads 'Harald'. The skull is now in a pub near Stonehenge, Wilts, after being left there by Canadian tourist John Goodwin, 46, who found it last Sunday. It appears a talented craftsman has stuck the tusk in the middle of a donkey or horse's head to make the forgery. The area where it was found near St Nectan's Glen is known as one of the Duchy's most spiritual sites. Occultists have been known to go there to make offerings and carry out rituals, suggesting the skull may have been used for a ceremony. Amazon worker Timothy Painter, 56, from Durrington near Stonehenge, was at the pub when it was brought in. He said: 'I was amazed, it was real bone, the skull was fusing up to the horn and it had wobbly teeth. 'It would be a hard thing to hoax. 'I was looking at it being sceptical but I couldn't see anything that was fabricated. 'It's mysterious and magical and an anomaly.' Boffins at the Natural History Museum said they were unable to provide any comment on the item. A team of zooarchaeologists from Historic England have also been consulted.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Mysterious 'unicorn' skull unearthed near King Arthur's castle
A mysterious skull with a huge horn poking out of it, described as a 'unicorn', has been unearthed near King Arthur's castle. The bizarre remains were dug up by Canadian tourist John Goodwin, who spotted the long horn sticking out of moss on the edge of a cliff. The location is close to Tintagel, the castle in which King Arthur is said to have been born, which still exists in ruined form in Cornwall. King Arthur, the legendary British leader and formidable warrior of the 5th and 6th centuries, is said to have slayed a unicorn, bringing a curse to his kingdom. While the tourist insists he did not plant the bony remains there as a hoax, one British expert has dubbed its appearance 'suspicious'. 'I imagine that some people think the story isn't true but I assure you it is true,' Mr Goodwin told Cornwall Live. 'It was definitely there and we found it on the trail under a mossy embankment. 'Whether it is a genuine unicorn – that I don't know.' The unicorn is Scotland's national animal and is linked with Arthurian legend, even though there's no evidence such a creature ever existed Mr Goodwin and his family were taking a walk at St Nectan's Glen, a sacred valley not far from Tintagel Castle with a breathtaking waterfall considered 'magic' by some. Initially, they thought the object was a root poking out, but when he pulled it free, it turned out to be the skull with the huge curving appendage. 'I pulled it out and thought it must be a deer or something at first but realized it only had one horn,' he told Cornwall Live. 'It was real bone, heavy and looked properly old... it was too small for a rhino but no matter what, it was unusual.' Mr Goodwin brought it back to his car, but reportedly his grandmother 'started feeling uneasy' about it right away. 'She said it didn't feel right to take it, like we'd disturbed something meant to be left alone,' he added. Mr Goodwin, a plumber, took the object to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle – but the museum refused to take it. So he left it at The Stonehenge Inn, in Durrington near Salisbury, Wiltshire, on the way back to London for another flight. The legend of King Arthur Thought to have lived during the late fifth and early sixth centuries, King Arthur is believed to have led the fight against the invading Saxons. Tintagel, the castle in which the king is said to have been born, still exists in ruined form in Cornwall, although others claim he was Welsh. Either way, sources suggest Arthur was a great king who defended Britain from enemies, earthly and supernatural. 'I decided that since I probably couldn't take it through customs [so] I made the trade,' he said. The barman offered him 'unlimited ale' for the skull, which is still there now for punters to look at while they sip their Old Speckled Hen. He added: 'I call it the Sadie-James skull in honour of my gran and gramp, who had their 50th anniversary last weekend.' Mr Goodwin admitted it is 'certainly possible' that some trickster planted the skull at St Nectan's Glen as a hoax. It could even be a fusion of two bones, stuck together to resemble that of a unicorn. Professor David Norman, a paleontologist at the University of Cambridge, said the 'suspicious' item looks like 'the skull of a deceased pony'. 'It looks rather as though a cow horn has been glued to the top of a pony's skull,' he told MailOnline. 'A lot of young girls and readers of the Skandar novels would be disappointed methinks; however it may be useful a useful publicity for the pub owner and beer sales, of course.' The unicorn is Scotland's national animal, even though there's no evidence such a creature ever existed. According to myth, King Arthur killed a unicorn in the forest when he was a prince – but Merlin, the young wizard who is Arthur's servant, warned that it was a bad omen. Merlin was soon proved right when a curse arrived upon the kingdom, killing crops and drying up the water. King Arthur is said to have been conceived and born at Tintagel Castle, which was built half on the mainland and half on a jagged headland projecting into the Cornish sea. Today's ruined keep was built in the 13th century, but the site of Tintagel Castle has been inhabited at least since the late Roman period. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT TINTAGEL CASTLE? The site of Tintagel Castle has been inhabited at least since the late Roman period, and a community flourished 5th to 7th centuries. The castle once spanned both the mainland and the tiny island jutting into the sea and the two sections were once united by a narrow strip of land. This connection no longer exists and now the island can only be reached via a steep and challenging staircase. Anew footbridge will follow the path of the original land bridge. The bridge has been designed by Ney & Partners engineers and William Matthews Associates Architectural Practice. It will be set 57 metres above sea level, and two separate sections will be built of 30 m in length from opposite sides to meet in the middle, but not quite touch. At the centre, a narrow gap (40mm) represents the transition between the mainland and the island, the present and the past. The bridge has been designed to be as unobtrusive as possible and to reflect the historical land bridge. The original narrow land access gave rise to the castle's name, with the Cornish Din Tagell meaning 'the Fortress of the Narrow Entrance'. Tintagel is known as the legendary place where King Arthur was conceived - according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's book 'The History of The King's of Britain' Passages in Monmouth's book depict how Arthur was conceived at the castle by Uther Pendragon, King of Britain, after his magically assisted seduction of Queen Igerna (Igraine), wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. Evidence from artifacts found at Tintagel suggest a fair amount of trading with the Mediterranean. Goods found include Mediterranean pottery, and high-quality tableware. The area has by far the largest quantity so far discovered.
The Sun
10-07-2025
- The Sun
Mysterious ‘UNICORN' skull found near King Arthur's castle – but is it a freak animal or a hoax?
A MYSTERIOUS 'unicorn' skull has been unearthed near King Arthur's castle. Tourist John Goodwin dug it up after spotting the long horn sticking out of moss on the edge of a Cornish cliff. 4 4 4 When he pulled it free, he found a skull with a single tusk in the middle of its forehead — like the mythical creature. John, a plumber from Canada was near Tintagel — the supposed site of King Arthur's Camelot castle — with wife Val and their daughter. He found the skull at St Nectan's Glen, a spot considered to be sacred. John, 46, said: 'The hairs on my arm stood up when I pulled it out. 'I was in this magical place full of folklore and came across this item. 'There was moss at the edge of the cliff and something poking out of it. It looked like a horn and I kept tugging on it. " It was grown in there, it wasn't like someone put it there last weekend. It looked properly old.' John, in the UK to celebrate his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, took the curious object to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in nearby Boscastle but they refused to take it. He left it at The Stonehenge Inn, in Durrington, Wilts, on the way back to Heathrow. John said: 'I showed it to the barman and he offered me unlimited ales for the skull. Massive 250kg dinosaur SKULL dubbed 'Big Sam' unearthed by palaeontologists after 72million years in bone-filled creek "Between me and my wife, we had seven or eight and then we left the skull there.' Unicorns appeared in Arthurian legend and are Scotland's national animal. But it is thought the skull is either a freak animal or a hoax. 4
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
'Alien visitors' theory as Net goes wild for 'skull' lurking off Canadian island
Internet sleuths swear they have seen a huge skull lurking in the waters of a Canadian island. And some are now claiming it might be a sign of alien interference. UFO tracker Scott Waring told of the sighting off Cormorant Island: 'I believe ancient alien visitors created the skull. They did this to leave a sign behind for others to see that says, "We were here first." ' When viewed from the north, a sandbank beneath the water reveals a distinct shape of a human skull. However, scientists contend there is a simple explanation for the confounding illusion. The strange skull-like formation can be found on Google Maps by searching for the village of Alert Bay, the only settlement on the tiny island, which is located off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia province. However, you will need to rotate the map 180 degrees in order to see the 'face' looming out from the waters. On social media, commenters flocked to share their amazement. One wrote: 'That's actually incredible. It's amazing!!' Another chimed in: 'Help me out here, in the words of X-Files, I want to believe.' While the sight might be a mystery to some, Waring is convinced it must be extraterrestrial in origin. The founder of UFO Sightings Daily says that the sandbar's human-like appearance is 'not a coincidence.' He added: 'The details of the skull are completely accurate, but on a scale of 100 meters across.' But not everyone is on board with these claims of alien activity. UFO researcher Philip Mantle told 'There are no signs that alien life forms have visited Earth in antiquity and left evidence of such. 'It could well be a natural rock formation that looks skull-like. A bit like seeing faces in the clouds.' In fact, scientists say there is a good reason why all sorts of geological structures get mistaken for faces or skulls. When faced with a structure containing intricate and varied patterns, the brain turns this noisy, dynamic information into patterns and objects that we can understand. The brain gets this right most of the time, but sometimes certain predispositions cause errors that disturb our perceptions. Dr Robin Kramer, an expert on face perception from the University of Lincoln in eastern England, told 'Our face detection system has evolved to be great at detecting faces and it makes more sense to err on the side of caution by occasionally seeing faces where there aren't any, rather than missing faces where there are.' Scientists call this phenomenon pareidolia, which is a bias towards seeing meaningful patterns in inanimate objects. Dr Kramer says: 'Face pareidolia explains why we might see faces in geological structures, as well as pretty much anything else.' Scientists think that we evolved this sensitivity towards faces because it helped our ancestors find friends and spot enemies. For hunter-gatherers, it was better to briefly mistake a bush for your neighbor's animal than miss someone sneaking up on you. Professor Kevin Brooks, a psychologist at Macquarie University in Australia, told 'We tend to classify anything vaguely face-like as a face until proven otherwise – it's safer that way. 'Evolutionary psychologists speculate that we evolved this mechanism to help our survival, and increase our chances of passing on our genes, bringing forth another generation of people who are also good at face detection.' Some people are more sensitive to faces and so might experience more pareidolia in their daily lives. Dr Susan Wardle, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, said pareidolia is not 'usually' a sign of any psychological or neurological issues. However, a high rate of pareidolia might be a sign of someone's bias towards believing in the paranormal. A Finnish study conducted in 2012 found that people with religious or paranormal beliefs were much more likely to see faces in random stimuli. This could explain why alien hunters seem to find faces or patterns in geological features so frequently. Dr Wardle concludes: 'Most people who see faces in things recognize that the faces are not real. 'Issues can arise when people interpret visual patterns to have meaning that they do not, or when they have difficulty distinguishing true perceptions from illusory ones.' WHY DO WE SEE FACES IN INANIMATE OBJECTS? Pareidolia is the psychological response to seeing faces and other significant and everyday items in random stimuli. It is a form of apophenia, when people see patterns in random, unconnected data. There have been multiple occasions when people have claimed to see religious images and themes in unexpected places. On the red planet, one of the most famous is the 'face on Mars' spotted by one of the Viking orbiters in 1976. This was later proven to just be a chance alignment of shifting sand dunes.
