BISMARCK, N.D. (KUMV) - The North Dakota Geological Survey will be digging in northwest North Dakota this month for woolly mammoth bones.
State Geologist Ed Murphy said the area first reported teeth belonging to the prehistoric animal in 1988, but construction of a garage above the location had prevented further investigation.
“It took a long time for messages to get around, and I got there, and the garage was already done,” said Murphy.
Murphy said they are not able to specifically mention the location for the privacy of the landowners.
Nearly 40 years later, with Murphy pondering retirement soon, he said he reconnected with the construction workers and a new landowner to again look into the area. Murphy said the State Historical Society recently performed a radar sweep around the garage.
“It gave us an indication of where the bones are coming out on the north side of the garage, and that’s exactly where the construction workers had told me,” said Murphy.
Murphy said they will be digging about 30 inches in a six-by-six-foot area near the garage.
“We know there’s going to be additional bones right there based on the ground-penetrating radar survey, and then the question will be ‘So what then is still under the garage?’” said Murphy.
While they expect some fragments, they still believe the sweet spot is under part of the garage, which remains a potential talking point for a future dig.
“Probably the next step would be to remove part of the slab and run ground-penetrating radar over that. The problem is that there’s rebar within the slab and that confuses the signal,” said Murphy.
Murphy said this dig is possible through the NDGS budget, but more extensive digs will require more funding, which could be discussed during the next legislative session.
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