“Who is the walrus?” is no longer just a question of interest to Beatles fans.
Archaeologists in London were excavating the graveyard of St. Pancras Old Church this past July, in preparation for the construction of a rail terminal.
The area had been used for mass graves during the first half of the 19th century. A number of epidemics meant 44,000 bodies were buried there from 1822 to 1854, yet the contents of one coffin were particularly unusual.
Scientists opened up the coffin to find the remains of eight people—and a walrus. No one knows how the sizable beast got to London.
Historians think it was likely dissected by medical students, yet there are no records of such a large and exotic animal in the city at the time.
Given that it would have needed to have been shipped from the Arctic, and the specimen was 4 meters (13 ft) long, it’s surprising that it didn’t make a stir.
To most people around at that time, walruses were essentially sea monsters.
Archaeologists in London were excavating the graveyard of St. Pancras Old Church this past July, in preparation for the construction of a rail terminal.
The area had been used for mass graves during the first half of the 19th century. A number of epidemics meant 44,000 bodies were buried there from 1822 to 1854, yet the contents of one coffin were particularly unusual.
Scientists opened up the coffin to find the remains of eight people—and a walrus. No one knows how the sizable beast got to London.
Historians think it was likely dissected by medical students, yet there are no records of such a large and exotic animal in the city at the time.
Given that it would have needed to have been shipped from the Arctic, and the specimen was 4 meters (13 ft) long, it’s surprising that it didn’t make a stir.
To most people around at that time, walruses were essentially sea monsters.
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