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How did land animals end up beneath the North Sea?

A mammoth tusk in a museum can begin its recorded journey in a fishing net or dredge. Wollaton Hall has one dredged from the North Sea, where landscapes now underwater were once dry land. The find connects an individual object to a changing coastline. Its recovery location is valuable evidence, but it does not tell us exactly where or how the animal died.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • How does a dredged fossil differ as evidence from one excavated in an undisturbed sediment layer?

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