Competition to identify Egyptian mystery bone

Elswhere in the news section on this site readers might have come across information about a mystery bone bundle.

The image on the right is a bone taken from this ancient Egyptian parcel.

For 83 years the identity of the bones  have remained a mystery, but Tom Hardwick and David Craven, Egyptologist and Geologist respectively at Bolton Museum, recently decided to re-open the investigation, hoping to find an answer.

Although most of the fossilised remains were small, fragmented pieces, one bone in the collection was distinctive enough to work with. Using their expertise and knowledge in this area, Tom and David studied the bone and are now sure they can now reveal what it once belonged to.

Images of the bone have been examined by experts around the world so that their findings can be confirmed and once this is the case, all will be revealed.

What bone is it?

In the meantime staff at the museum want people to let their imagination run wild and enter a competition about the mystery bones. They would like people to send in suggestions of what they think the bones might be from. There will be a prize for the right answer or the suggestion closest to the answer.

To enter, simply send in your answer, along with your name, address, age and telephone number to:

Mystery Bone Competition
Bolton Museum & Archive Service

Le Mans Crescent
Bolton
BL1 1SE

 Entries must be received no later than 5th May 2007.