Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United Kingdom England London Tower of London Barbary Lion Skulls

Tower of London Barbary Lion Skulls

The bones of two medieval royal lions were discovered at the historic fortress.

London, England

Added By
Mictlān Tēcutli
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Lion skull.   Thomas Quine/cc by 2.0
Lion skull.   Laika ac/cc by-sa 2.0
Lion skull.   John Cummings/cc by-sa 3.0
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Wire sculptures on display at the Tower of London in the area of the old menagerie.   Patrick Davies Contemporary Art/cc by-sa 4.0
The skulls are from lions that belonged to an extinct subspecies, the Barbary lion of the Atlas Mountains.   Alfred Edward Pease (29 June 1857 – 27 April 1939)/public domain
A model lion skull is also on display and visitors are invited to touch it in order to get a feel of the predator’s bestial majesty.   JamazingClayton / Atlas Obscura User
The “lion tower” where the unfortunate royal lions would have lived.   Richard Nevell/cc by-sa 3.0
Medieval bestiary depiction of a lion attacking a man.   Unknown/public domain
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1937, a team of workmen digging within the old moat at the Tower of London made a strange discovery. To the great surprise of those present, the skulls of two formidably fanged beasts were excavated from the earth.

The skulls were taken to the Natural History Museum, where an expert declared that they belonged to a pair of African lions. The bones were then placed in a box and tucked away in the museum’s vast archive, where they remained for decades. They stayed there until advances in carbon dating made a more thorough analysis possible.

One of the skulls has been dated to between 1280 and 1385, while the other is estimated to be from between 1420 and 1480. Both of these fierce felines were kept at the Tower during the years of the Plantagenet rule.

Sadly, in spite of their esteemed status as symbols of the might and majesty of the monarchy, analysis of the skulls has revealed that the royal lions were not very well cared for. Evidence derived studying their canine teeth suggests that both individuals were malnourished. It’s believed this nutrient deficiency eventually caused bone deformities, blindness, and ultimately, the deaths of the two big cats.

This more recent analysis also revealed that both lions were males from a subspecies that’s now extinct in the wild. The Barbary lion once roamed the Atlas Mountains of North Africa and was historically found in great numbers in countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and parts of western Egypt. It’s unclear exactly when the last wild Barbary lions went extinct, but it's believed they disappeared from the wild during the 20th century.

Though all wild lions were extirpated from northern Europe after the last Ice Age, the creatures still became deeply embedded within English culture. The first record of a lion being used as a symbol of royalty was when King Richard I of the Plantagenet Dynasty. known as "Richard the Lionheart" for his bravery, adopted the image of three of these animals as the heraldic symbol of his royal arms. The involvement of Richard’s forces in the Crusades could have perhaps led to English knights and soldiers encountering either wild or captive lions in the Middle East.

The first known record of a live lion at the Tower dates from 1240 during the reign of King Henry III, when the cost of its upkeep is mentioned in a manuscript. Exotic beasts were kept at the tower’s menagerie until it closed in the 19th century.

Related Tags

Skulls Animals Cats Royalty Museums And Collections Museums Natural History Museums Zoos

Know Before You Go

The oldest lion skull is displayed in the Treasures Cadogan Gallery at the Natural History Museum.

Take the right hand central staircase in the main Hintze Hall, Turn left into the Treasures gallery. It is the first exhibit.

Community Contributors

Added By

Monsieur Mictlan

Edited By

rosych33ks, jooniur, SEANETTA, Collector of Experiences...

  • rosych33ks
  • jooniur
  • SEANETTA
  • Collector of Experiences
  • JamazingClayton
  • rbenn250

Published

January 31, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/when-did-the-barbary-lion-really-go-extinct/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_lion
  • https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-tower-of-london-menagerie/#gs.ENMIseT1
  • https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/explore/royal-beasts/#gs.sY5EC9OS
  • https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3337200/Barbary-lions-were-part-of-medieval-Tower-of-London-zoo.html
Tower of London Barbary Lion Skulls
8 Cromwell Rd
London, England
United Kingdom
51.496715, -0.176367
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Chi-Chi the Giant Panda

London, England

miles away

Alfred Russel Wallace Statue

London, England

miles away

Mary Anning's Plesiosaur

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Nearby Places

Chi-Chi the Giant Panda

London, England

miles away

Alfred Russel Wallace Statue

London, England

miles away

Mary Anning's Plesiosaur

London, England

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of London

London

England

Places 536
Stories 109

Related Places

  • Pentaceratops Skull

    Norman, Oklahoma

    Pentaceratops Skull

    The largest land animal skull ever discovered.

  • A taxidermy hippo.

    Tervuren, Belgium

    Royal Museum for Central Africa Natural History Collections

    A fascinating and enormous collection of natural history exhibits stained by a dark colonial legacy.

  • The taxidermy “puma-pard.”

    Tring, England

    Tring Natural History Museum Hybrid Animals

    A menagerie of curiously bred creatures.

  • Museo Civico “Craveri” di Storia Naturale.

    Bra, Italy

    Museo Civico Craveri di Storia Naturale

    A collection of wonderfully preserved 19th-century creatures, as well as hunting trophies seized during a police raid.

  • Plesiosaur.

    London, England

    Mary Anning's Plesiosaur

    This marine reptile was discovered by one of the 19th century's greatest fossil hunters.

  • One of the museum’s dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

    Birchington-on-Sea, England

    Powell-Cotton Dioramas

    An English explorer's vast natural history collection has the first realistic dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

  • The inside of Welt der Gifte

    Salzburg, Austria

    Welt der Gifte

    At this exhibit on the world of poison, venomous animals steal the show.

  • Kotor kitty

    Kotor, Montenegro

    Cats Museum

    A curious little museum dedicated to the furry feline in the cat haven that is Old Town Kotor.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.