Piltdown man

This is the field in Sussex where Charles Dawson and Arthur Smith Woodward unearthed the Piltdown bones. Click on the screen to find out how they carried out their field work. Then compare it with an excavation today by clicking 'Now'.

1. In the field | The excavation

Dawson's diagram of the Piltdown excavation
©Unknown

Although there are no notes from Dawson's excavation at Piltdown, five months later he drew a detailed picture of the different layers of soil they came across as they dug deeper into the ground.

Question

Could you remember something you saw five months ago in as much detail?

References

• Discovering fossils:
  general information about fossil collecting in the UK
• The scientific method:
  explored as part of the Museum's Darwin Centre experience