Mammoth Find At Reser

Construction workers working on the renovation of the Valley Football Center on the northwest endzone end of Reser Stadium have made a mammoth discovery.

On Monday, excavation encountered some thing large and unusual, and today, upon close and careful further review, it turns out there are prehistoric bones estimated to be over 10,000 years old, dating back to the Ice Age.

Fortunately, Oregon State has archaeology professors, and an ample supply of eager archaeology students more than willing to help with the find. OSU associate professor of anthropology Loren Davis determined that the bones found where the new Oregon State locker room will be include a femur from a Mammoth, below.

Other bones believed to be from a camel and a bison (though not one from Colorado) were found, as well as smaller fragments.

"There are quite a few bones, and dozens of pieces," said Davis. "Some of the bones are not in very good shape, but some are actually quite well preserved."

There's been no indication of any Husky or Golden Bear bones in the mix, however.

Davis oversaw the removal of some of the larger bones, above, and the excavation was placed in the end zone, below, where archaeology students were coming thru them.

While noteworthy due to the size of the find, discoveries of the sort are not uncommon in the Willamette Valley. The site has been the site of several prior projects, as over the year a football equipment shed was replaced by an expanded operations building, which was replaced by the Valley Football Center, which was subsequently expanded and remodeled prior to the latest major project, but the digging never got as deep, as each project has been bigger than the one before, but none as extensive as the current one.

Progress will only be minimally delayed, as portions of the project were in areas not affected, and one advantage of being a major university is happening to have archaeologists on hand for occasions when you happen to dig up prehistoric bones, so the project of measuring and photographing and excavating the find got moving quickly.

At the very least, the find will make for another interesting story about R