Mammoth Tusk Discovered in Seattle by Construction Workers

Feb 12, 2014 07:57 AM EST | Matt Mercuro

A Seattle museum official confirmed this week that workers recently found a tusk from a prehistoric ice age mammoth.

Construction workers stopped digging when they found the tusk, and alerted the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, according to a KIRO-TV report.

The fossil was found on private property in the south Lake Union area of the city.

It's now up to the landowner to decide what to do with the fossil.

"Because the fossil is on private property and does not seem to be associated with an archaeological site, it is up to the landowner to decide what they would like to do with the tusk," Dr. Christian Sidor of the Burke Museum said, according to KIRO-TV.

Sidor also said this week that the museum's experts have observed the fossil and he feels "confident that it represents a tusk from an ice age mammoth."

The museum offered to excavate the tusk and supply scientists who would like to observe the fossil, according to The Seattle Times.

The land owner has yet to give any indication what will happen with the tusk yet.

The museum said the ancient elephant relatives lived in the area until around 10,000 years ago and since then their fossils have been found all-over western Washington.

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