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See video of giant elephant tusk lifted from cliffs

Artist's impression of elephant, courtesy of the Norfolk Museums Service

The biggest, oldest and most complete fossil elephant skeleton ever found in Britain was discovered in Norfolk in 1990.

Cliff erosion at West Runton near Cromer had revealed bones and a full excavation took place in 1995. The giant elephant was an early type of mammoth -
Mammuthus Trogontherii.

It lived more than 600,000 years ago, stood about four metres at the shoulder, and at 10 tonnes would have been nearly twice the weight of a modern African elephant.

A giant elephant tusk is lifted from the cliffs - watch the video

The elephant skeleton is now in the hands of the Norfolk Museum and Archaeology Service.

Most of the skeleton is currently in storage, but you can see an exhibition about this extraordinary find at Cromer Museum.

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