The skull above the door in Melksham Town Hall
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2011-11-06 08:53:59 - Graham Ellis
Fishermen using a net in a deep pool in the Avon in May 1838 had a big surprise when the net pulled up a very heavy object. It turned out to be the horns and part of the skull of an ox, about a third larger than anything they had ever seen before.It turned out to be part of a fossil skull from the Paleolithic era, of a species long since extinct. The horns were in especially good condition - indeed better than those on specimens at the British Museum.
The skull and horn are now mounted in the main room / council chamber in Melksham Town Hall - pride of place, above the door.
• Information from Wiltshire Miscellany by J A Leete - published 1976 by Colin Venton Ltd., Uffington Press, Melksham. ISBN 0 85475 127 0
• The plaque below the skull reads: "This specimen on Bos Primigenius was found in the bed of the river, at Melksham, in the year 1838, and was purchased by subscription from the executors of J L Phillips Esqre and places in this room for safety by permission of the Melksham Market Company, AD 1856"
Truely, we have some interesting history here in Melksham ... perhaps we could / should co-ordinate some of that a little more, present a history that we're proud of, and invite people from far and near to enjoy our town by road, by rail, and by canal.