VITEBSK DISTRICT, 7 August (BelTA) - A 3-meter mammoth tusk discovered in the Shalygi industrial quarry of Vitebsk District likely belonged to a large adult specimen, Denis Yurchak, the chief specialist with the Culture Department of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee, Candidate of Historical Sciences and Associate Professor, told BelTA.
Workers uncovered the tusk on 6 August. It fell from soft sediment in the quarry's sandy wall. Driver Ruslan Yevseyev was the first to spot the fossil.
"I spotted the tusk when it tumbled down from the upper sand layers. At first I didn't even realize what it was. I thought it might be a log,” the worker recounted. “But when I got closer, it looked like some kind of horn. I was absolutely stunned when I understood what we'd found. I immediately notified the foreman, who alerted management. In all my years working here, this is the first discovery like this.”
Denis Yurchak explained that the glacier covering what is now Vitebsk Oblast melted 15,000-14,000 years ago, while mammoths likely migrated through the area around 20,000 years, prior to the subsequent cooling period.”
“Nearby, in the Ruba neighborhood, quarry excavations frequently yield various artifacts. Furthermore, mammoth bone fragments have been documented in Orsha District and Shumilino District. The tusk discovered at Shalygi measures 3 meters in length, though this represents only a partial segment of the original tusk. In adult specimens, these tusks could range from 2 to 4 meters. So we can reasonably speculate this particular tusk likely came from a mature, sizable animal. Specialists will conduct analyses to determine the mammoth's approximate age," Denis Yurchak explained.
He noted that bone remains and fossils typically preserve well in swampy terrain where anoxic conditions and stable temperatures prevent decomposition. Vitebsk Oblast abounds in wetlands, some potentially dating to pre-glacial periods. This creates ideal preservation environments.
Denis Yurchak added that this currently stands as the largest mammoth tusk fragment ever discovered in Vitebsk Oblast. The Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore houses approximately 130 bone fragments from these remarkable prehistoric creatures. Over 35 of them were unearthed near Ruba. Yet none compare in scale to this specimen.
The tusk is being retrieved by representatives from the National History Museum.
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