The Dendermonde Mammoth: fighting pyrite decay and the preservation of unique paleontological heritage

Abstract

The Dendermonde mammoth is a unique skeleton of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) which was found between 1968-1969, in the area around the city of Dendermonde (Oost-Vlaanderen - Belgium). This 29,000 year old skeleton was mounted in 1975 by its finder Hugo De Potter in the attic of the 'Vleeshuismuseum'. The skeleton consists of ca. 74 original elements. Some of these elements originate from the Hofstade collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels (RBINS). Since 1990 the skeleton has not been chemically treated and no monitoring of temperature or relative humidity took place. As a result of years of exposure and lack of any treatment, the bones of the Dendermonde mammoth were covered with a thick layer of dust and affected by pyrite decay. The skeleton was showing several visual outbursts of pyrite blooming out of the fossilised cartilage as well as numerous desiccation cracks. By the end of March 2017 the Belgian Paleontological Association (BVP), the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) and the city museum of Dendermonde (Stedelijk museum Dendermonde) decided to restore the skeleton in order to preserve an important piece of Belgian paleontological heritage.