St. Louisans have a unique opportunity to witness the unearthing of a prehistoric animal this week.
From 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, Principia College will be excavating a mastodon buried on its grounds. The university called the event “a significant opportunity for students, faculty, and the public to engage with history” in a statement.
The archeological find was first discovered in 2022 by Michael Towell, a facilities worker at the Elsah, Illinois, college. While digging on campus, he spotted a flash of white that turned out to be a tusk.
Classes led by Principia faculty, including associate professor Andrew Martin, began excavating the fossils that fall. At the time, Martin told St. Louis on the Air that he was not sure if the animal discovered was a mastodon or mammoth.
“If we excavate the tusk, and it turns out that it's curved and goes back down into the earth, it's a mammoth,” he said. “If it ends with just a gentle curve, it's probably a mastodon.”
This wasn’t the first significant find at Principia — and is actually the fourth dig the university has led. In 1999, the college excavated a mammoth dubbed “Benny,” which now is displayed in the science center on campus.
But that history hasn’t made the experience rote for faculty or students.
“It's an amazing opportunity for the campus to really engage in experiential learning for the students and exciting for the campus too,” Martin said at the time.
This story has been updated with a current photo.
