Just completed is a children’s mammoth excavation in Helsinki Zoo, Finland. The 10 meter long skeleton is buried in sand and is designed to be a fun and safe way for young archeologists to practice their bone unearthing skills.
The mammoth dig (or mammuttimonttu if you prefer) is a temporary attraction and the skeleton, which is made in five seperate pieces, will be moved to a different part of the zoo at a later date. With a total weight of 2,200kg, the bones, which are made from steel reinforced concrete can be moved with heavy lifting equipment and assembled elsewhere when required. The present location will one day be turned back into a (living) creature enclosure.
The zoo made a short film showing the moving of the mammoth to its new home. We made the bones under cover a few hundred metres away from its current location.
Mammoth dig
