'Once-in-a-lifetime' discovery: Woolly Mammoth tooth found at Iowa construction site

Sunday, March 20, 2022
Woolly Mammoth tooth discovered at Iowa construction site
Woolly Mammoth tooth discovered at Iowa construction siteThis tooth is suspected to be over 20,000 years old.

SHELDON, Iowa -- A man made a prehistoric, "once-in-a-lifetime" discovery in Iowa.

He discovered a woolly mammoth tooth while on a construction site in the city of Sheldon, CNN reported.

It weighs a whopping 11.2 pounds and is nearly a foot long.

Justin Blauwet found the tooth. He said it was laying there, clearly exposed during excavation.

According to a paleontology professor, Blauwet got lucky because most woolly mammoth teeth disintegrate quickly.

Experts also said this tooth is suspected to be over 20,000 years old.

It will be on "semi-permanently loaned display" in Northwest Iowa Community College's Sheldon Prairie Museum.