6-year-old UK boy of Indian-origin finds a '488-million-years' old fossil in his home garden

30-03-2021

A 6-year-old Indian-origin boy from the UK named Siddak Singh Jhamat received a fossil-hunting kit for Christmas. Little did he know that it will help him discover an ancient fossil that will get him on the news. The boy found a 488-million-years old 'horn coral' fossil in his home garden. As a pastime, he went digging into his garden in search of worms and some pottery when he found it. "I was just digging for worms and things like pottery and bricks and I just came across this rock which looked a bit like a horn and thought it could be a tooth or a claw or a horn, but it was actually a piece of coral which is called horn coral," the boy told the BBC. At first, he was not able to recognize the fossil. It was only when his father, Vish Singh, identified the fossil with the help of a group on Facebook that specializes in them. He told the news agency, "We were surprised he found something so odd-shaped in the soil... he found a horn coral, and some smaller pieces next to it, then the next day he went digging again and found a congealed block of sand." This finding was a surprise for them considering the part of the country they live in is not where fossils are found. The fossil markings showed that it was a Rugosa coral that existed between 251 to 488 million years. BBC quoted Mr. Singh saying that it belonged to the Paleozoic Era.
"England at the time was part of Pangea, a landmass of continents. England was all underwater as well...that's quite a significant expanse of time," he added. Not just for the boy and his family, but everyone else has been amazed by this as well. Indeed, it is quite an interesting discovery.