In July 2022, Michael Towell, a facilities worker at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, was using an excavator. He was digging for soil that would later be used to shore up some of the roads on the campus that sits high atop the limestone bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.
About 12 feet below the surface, Towell saw something white. Luckily, he stopped the excavator. Scientists now confirm that what he saw is an ancient tusk that belonged to either a mammoth or a mastodon.
Andrew Martin, an associate professor at Principia College, says he is incredibly excited about the prehistoric find. He plans to begin excavating the fossils this fall along with students who take his fieldwork class. Until then, the area is cordoned off and protected from the elements.
