Vilnius, Aug 20 (IANS) A mammoth tusk has been discovered along Lithuania’s Baltic coast in the Klaipeda District, within the Seaside Regional Park, according to the Lithuania Minor Protected Areas on Tuesday.
The tusk was found at a cliff between Giruliai and Karkle, an area known as the Dutch Hat.
Describing the discovery as “a miracle,” the regional park’s management team noted on its Facebook account that previous finds in the same area include a mammoth pelvis, part of a rhinoceros vertebra, and a wild horse’s tubular bone.
The tusk was unearthed by a local resident named Arturas. Last week, he noticed what appeared to be a tree branch protruding from the sand in the wave-battered zone of the beach. However, upon pulling it out, he realized it was a bone fragment.
Arturas reported the find to the head of the Archaeology and Restoration Department at the Museum of Lithuania Minor, who confirmed the possibility that it was a mammoth tusk.
On Monday, specialists from the Regional Park, museum staff, and animal bone morphologist Linas Daugnora excavated the site, uncovering parts of the tusk and a tusk marker within the organic structure, Xinhua news agency reported.
Daugnora confirmed that the tusk, measuring approximately 55 cm in length, belonged to a mammoth.
The tusk has been transferred to the Museum of Lithuania Minor, where it will be conserved and put on display in the near future.
Further research is planned to determine when the mammoth lived, with initial estimates suggesting it dates back at least 20,000 years.
This find adds to approximately 50 mammoth bone discoveries in Lithuania, the most notable being the Vilnius Mammoth, where a significant portion of the skeleton was uncovered.
–IANS
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