Both are members of the Sepia Salzgitter diving club (www.tgsepia.de) and often pursue their sport there. But this time they brought a small sensation to light: the completely preserved tusk of a woolly mammoth.

According to museum director Arne Homann, the rare, almost 80-centimetre-long piece probably belonged to a 6 to 7-year-old young animal that trudged through what is now Lebenstedt during the last Ice Age around 110,000 to 10,000 years ago. Dr. Ralf Kosma from the Braunschweig State Museum of Natural History is providing him with expert support. He is also advising Homann on the future conservation of the tusk, as drying it out could severely damage it. For this reason, it is being kept in a tub of water until further notice. When the conservation work is completed in a year or two, the beautiful piece of the Ice Age will then be presented in the permanent exhibition. Because, according to Homann, the history of the find is just as exciting as the piece itself. And it is unfortunately not a matter of course that finders of such important finds actually deliver them to where they belong: In the museum.

Finder Harald Wiegleb and his diving buddy Jürgen Woelke see it the same way - and are still delighted with the find. However, they doubt whether more will follow soon. Because, according to Harald Wiegleb: "If you're looking for something like this, unfortunately you won't find it!"