The Lier mammoth is the skeleton of a

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

that was found in 1860 near the Dungelhoeffkazerne in Lier in the

Province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, while digging the diversion canal of the Nete. Its importance was recognised by a military doctor stationed in Lier,

François-Joseph Scohy François-Joseph Scohy (1831–1881) was a Belgian military physician and archaeologist. Life Scohy was born in Gilly, Belgium, on 26 September 1831. He studied medicine and natural science at the Catholic University of Louvain, graduating doctor ...

, and the skeleton was excavated, mounted and in 1869 for the first time shown to the public. This was a first skeleton of a mammoth for Western Europe. Only the museum of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

was already in possession of a mammoth skeleton. Because the skeleton is not complete, some bones were recreated in wood. Today, the skeleton is preserved in the museum of the

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Since 2018 a 3D printed replica is present at Lier city museum.

References

Sources

* Sur les ossements fossiles Découverts à Lierre le 28 Fevrier 1860, les Bulletins de l'Académie Royale de Belgique, 2e série, tome IX, n. 5
250 Years of Natural Sciences

Le Mammouth de Lier
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External links

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Prehistoric mammals of Europe Mammal fossils Fossils of Belgium Lier, Belgium

See also

References

Sources

External links