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Image Not Available for Elephant Tusk
Elephant Tusk
Image Not Available for Elephant Tusk

Elephant Tusk

Datec. 1700
Object NameTusk
MediumIvory
ClassificationsScience And Technology
AcquisitionPresented in 1936 by Professor J Ritchie.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS012368.1
About MeThese two tusks were trawled off the Shetland by the Aberdeen registered vessel Evelyn Nutten in 1934. At first the tusks were believed to be around 50,000 years old and to have come from a mammoth. However, radiocarbon dating suggests they were not more than 300 to 400 years old. It is likely that they were part of a cargo from a vessel lost in the later 17th or early 18th century, possibly a Dutch East Indiaman. The tusks differ in size and are almost certainly from two different elephants.
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