Walrus Found In London Grave

Dean Nicholas
By Dean Nicholas Last edited 135 months ago

Last Updated 24 July 2013

Walrus Found In London Grave

A walrus, yesterday

Another entry in the long list of peculiar animals turning up in strange places in London... it has emerged that construction workers building the St Pancras Eurostar link discovered the remains of a walrus interred in a 19th-century graveyard.

The beast was found in 2003 at St Pancras Church, though experts are unable to discern how it came to be there. It was sealed in a coffin alongside other, human remains, although experts believe that it is likely the animal was used for medical testing before being discarded alongside dissected homo-sapien cadavers.

The discovery will prompt lots of conspiracy theories ("Tusky the Ripper" was The Register's take on it). Zoological sleuths looking for answers may wish to peruse the lyrics of The Beatles, who referenced the blubbery mammal in two songs — I Am The Walrus (1967) and Glass Onion (1968), the latter of which offers the following cryptic couplets:

I told you 'bout the Walrus and me man,
I told you we're as close as can be, man,
But here's another clue for you all.... the Walrus was Paul

It is currently on display at the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre.

See also: The Horniman Walrus