Missing Link Found In Askam.
A boy from Abbey Heights has found a piece of bone from an animal dated at the start of the late Jurassic period. The fragment was sent off to the University of Oxford to have the species identified. In the meantime a group of archaeologists roped off an area of the land between the Heights and Saves Lane. The dig was undertaken over a four-day period. The Askam Herald was invited to join in and the invitation was accepted. Our reporter turned up on the first day to find the JCB leaving and several trenches full of workers, slowly digging through the mud. On the second day our reporter turned in a little earlier managing to catch a word from the site manager and chief archaeologist. They explained the process of taking a small amount of earth from the trench and sifting through it. The process was done by hand, except the initial earth, so that even the smallest amount of evidence could be found. Asked if they had discovered anything, they showed the reporter the remnants of an old drain, dated 1903.

In a second trench, much lower on the slope from the original find they had unearthed several more bones that could, due to the degree of the hill and natural landslip, have been pushed down to the lower level. The two bones were touted as being from the foot of an Ape sized animal. The third day saw the return of the JCB as another two trenches were dug between the original find and the previous days find. The depth of the trench had been calculated using the diagonal from the two uncovered plots. With almost pinpoint positioning the JCB dug down to the depth of four foot three inch, leaving the final amount to be removed manually. The excitement level gained momentum as another set of bones appeared, this time obviously resembling a rib cage of animal descent. The first thoughts from the archaeologists were that early Apes had actually lived on the land to become the United Kingdom. From one whispered worker the unthinkable had been uttered: the missing link. Final tests are due at the end of this week and The Askam Herald has been given full and exclusive rights to publish the results, but we can inform our readers now that excitement has been hitting fever pitch. If the unthinkable happens and the specimens found are proved to be the missing link, The Askam Herald will be naming the original young finder and also giving him a Lincolnshire sausage as a trophy. We will report back in the next edition of The Askam Herald.