Tooth - Straight-tusked Elephant
Object
Fossil
Object number
1991.381
Physical Description
Fossil of Straight-tusked Elephant molar tooth. Found on Evering Road, next to Rectory Road station, during sewer works in 1960.
Object history
This tooth was discovered 20ft below the ground during tunnelling operations during September and October 1960 for the construction of the new Evering Road sewer. It was found about 20ft below ground, between Maury Road and the railway bridge.
The animal remains found at the site included six complete molar teeth, the front section of a Jaw, parts of a skull, and fragments of vertebrae of the Straight Tusked elephant (see 1991.810, 1991.382) a rhino vertebra (see 1991.1033) and the tooth of a wild horse, now in the British Museum.
The finds were made by workmen, and reported to the British Museum by Mr Howard Lewis, an amateur geologist who lived nearby and who made regular visits to the excavation in order to record the deposits exposed there.
Documents related to the discovery are held by the Natural History Museum, Ref. DF PAL/129/5/4/156
The animal remains found at the site included six complete molar teeth, the front section of a Jaw, parts of a skull, and fragments of vertebrae of the Straight Tusked elephant (see 1991.810, 1991.382) a rhino vertebra (see 1991.1033) and the tooth of a wild horse, now in the British Museum.
The finds were made by workmen, and reported to the British Museum by Mr Howard Lewis, an amateur geologist who lived nearby and who made regular visits to the excavation in order to record the deposits exposed there.
Documents related to the discovery are held by the Natural History Museum, Ref. DF PAL/129/5/4/156
Dimension
Width: 150mm
Height: 80mm
Height: 80mm
Exhibition Label
From ‘Hackney 300,000 BC: Meet the Neanderthal neighbours and curious creatures of the borough's Old Stone Age’
Straight-tusked Elephant
(600,000 - 115,000 years ago)
Straight-tusked elephants may have been the largest land mammal to have ever existed. They could weigh over 14 tonnes and reach up to 4.5 metres tall, making today’s modern elephants seem small in comparison.
In addition to their huge tusks, they are known for the distinctive ‘headband-like’ ridge sticking out of their forehead, part of which can be seen on this skull fragment. The straight-tusked elephant became extinct in Britain about 115,000 years ago.
These huge teeth and skull fragment were found on Evering Road, next to Rectory Road station, during sewer works in 1960.
Straight-tusked Elephant
(600,000 - 115,000 years ago)
Straight-tusked elephants may have been the largest land mammal to have ever existed. They could weigh over 14 tonnes and reach up to 4.5 metres tall, making today’s modern elephants seem small in comparison.
In addition to their huge tusks, they are known for the distinctive ‘headband-like’ ridge sticking out of their forehead, part of which can be seen on this skull fragment. The straight-tusked elephant became extinct in Britain about 115,000 years ago.
These huge teeth and skull fragment were found on Evering Road, next to Rectory Road station, during sewer works in 1960.
On display?
No
