A dozen mammoth teeth from the Gera Natural History Museum had suffered from age and improper treatment. A special workshop saved them from crumbling.
Gera (dpa/th) – After extensive restoration, twelve ancient mammoth teeth have returned to the Gera Natural History Museum. The preparation of the teeth found in 1874 in a cave in today’s urban area was successful, the city administration announced on Tuesday. They are to be presented to the public on January 21 during a primeval day in the museum. The decaying molars of the primeval animal giants were brought to a taxidermy workshop in North Rhine-Westphalia for special treatment last year on the initiative of the Gera Minerals and Fossils Friends Association.
The condition of the mammoth teeth was also so bad because they had not been treated professionally in the past, said Frank Hrouda from the Museum of Natural History. Individual teeth were broken several times and patched together with brown glue and other substances. Gaps between teeth were filled with plaster or replaced with pieces of wood.
These materials should have been removed first during the restoration, he said. They have been washed and brushed. Each tooth was coated with silicone and soaked in liquid epoxy. This provides strength after curing.
The treatment of the original teeth was financed by a EUR 5,000 subsidy from the Thuringian Ministry of Science. Lottery funds and private donations also benefited the restoration, for example several dentists donated money.
The mammoth teeth are not on display in the museum’s permanent exhibition. In 2024 they are to be shown in a special exhibition, as Hrouda said. Then the discovery of the cave is 150 years ago. The Lindenthal Hyena Cave was inhabited by hyenas 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. They had dragged animal carcasses into the cave and gnawed them down to the bones, which finds testified to.
