Profile
The Hollingworths' mammoth graveyard: from a Swindon quarry to a BEM
Sally and Dr Neville Hollingworth, the husband-and-wife palaeontologists behind the Swindon ‘mammoth graveyard’ and a David Attenborough documentary, were each appointed BEM in the 2026 Birthday Honours for opening up geology and palaeontology to everyone.
· Honoria
When Sally and Dr Neville Hollingworth went fossil-hunting at a quarry north of Swindon, they uncovered one of the most significant Ice Age finds Britain has seen in years.
Both were appointed Members of the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2026 Birthday Honours for services to public engagement and accessibility in geology and palaeontology.
The mammoth graveyard
At a Hills Quarry Products site near Swindon, the couple led the excavation of what became known as a ‘mammoth graveyard’ - the remains of at least five Ice Age steppe mammoths, together with mammoth teeth, ribs, pelvic bones and skull fragments, and even nautilus and shark remains from a far older sea. The bones date to roughly 210,000 to 220,000 years ago, an interglacial period when Neanderthals lived in Britain; a Neanderthal hand axe found among them hints at their presence at the site.
The discovery drew Sir David Attenborough to the quarry for the BBC documentary Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard, broadcast in December 2021.
Bringing the science to everyone
Their honour is as much for how they share the science as for what they found. Their digs bring together scores of student volunteers - the most recent drew more than 100 students from 18 universities - and they have made a career of opening up geology and palaeontology to the public, in the field, on screen and online. You can hear Sally and Neville tell their own stories at Sally's My Viking film and Neville's.
Recognition
The BEM recognises that public-facing work: making the deep history beneath our feet accessible to everyone, from schoolchildren to seasoned scientists. More on the dig from Hills Group.