14 DAY TRIAL // The skeletal remains of a woolly mammoth believed to have roamed the Earth around 20,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, were unearthed by construction workers in Rotkreuz, Switzerland, late last month.
The unexpected discovery, not a first for the region, was announced by a local official in a press conference this past Friday.
The crew, working on developing a new office block for the Roche company, first came across one of the animal's tusks. Then, when paleontologists arrived at the site, several other bones were pulled out of the ground.
“When the workmen came across these animal remains, we ordered work to be stopped immediately and informed the local authority,” Annette Luther, the general manager of the Roche company, said in a statement.
“We were astonished to see that the workmen had found,” added Renate Huber of the Cantonal Office of the Preservation of Historic Monuments and Archeology, as cited by The Zug Post.
The skeletal remains are in good condition
Despite having spent 20,000 years buried in the ground, the woolly mammoth skeleton fragments found in Rotkreuz towards the end of last month are in remarkable condition.
The tusk, estimated to measure around 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) in length, is nearly intact. As for the actual bones, the most impressive piece is a pelvis fragment about 0.7 meters (2.3 feet) long.
At least for now, researchers cannot say how and why the animal died. What's more, they have yet to determine whether it was a male of a female and what age it was when it passed away.
Meanwhile, work on the new office block for the Roche company has resumed.
To make sure no evidence that might pop up goes unnoticed, specialists with the Cantonal Office of the Preservation of Historic Monuments and Archaeology are keeping a close eye on the site.
