It lay in the soil of the American state of Wyoming for about 67 million years, but on Tuesday it arrived in five boxes on three pallets at the Prehistoric Museum in Boxtel: Edmontosaurus Monty. The pet name that the Prehistoric Museum has given the new addition to the museum.
The dinosaur that the Boxtel museum managed to excavate in the US over the past two years will be reconstructed on Brabant soil in the coming years. “We will have to work on this for about five years,” says curator Jonathan Wallaard of the museum. “But at 67 million years that is peanuts.”
Wallaard himself was there when the dinosaur was found. “Then you first see a chunk of stone with some bone sticking out, and then another and another. That is a euphoric feeling,” says the curator. “When we removed the last block, it turned out that there was still a three-meter tail in the rock wall. We dug that out a year later.
On a pallet lies a huge chunk of stone wrapped in cellophane. Part is shielded with plaster. “A piece of bone was sticking out of there. We assume that this eight hundred kilo piece of stone contains the entire skull,” says Wallaard. “And the rest is in all those other boxes and pallets.” In the coming years, the museum’s volunteers will use small jackhammers to remove the stone around the skeleton. And the bone is then impregnated with special glue, so that it does not fall apart.
Research has yet to clarify how old Monty has become. “We may also find indications of his cause of death. For example, it could be that he was bitten to death. But no investigation into the question of guilt will be conducted. Because the crime has expired and the perpetrator will probably no longer be alive,” the curator laughs.
“The quality of the bone is amazing.”
“It is exceptional that you find such a complete skeleton. I think we have found eighty to ninety percent of Monty. The quality of the bone is amazing. We have even found fossilized tendons and we are hoping for pieces of skin.”
The curator cannot believe his luck. “This is what you do it all for. This is one of the most beautiful dinosaurs in Europe.” For the time being we have to take the curator at his word, because the layman sees little more than wrapped boxes and chunks of stone, but in five years we are cordially invited to the unveiling of the full Monty.