Hidden treasures: Working where time lies on shelves

Manuel Stenger works amidst the remnants of a bygone era at the Natural History Museum in Mainz, surrounded by evidence of a time when mammoths, reindeer, and even hippos inhabited the region. As curator of the Ice Age collection, he is dedicated to cataloging, preserving, and interpreting the natural history of Rhineland-Palatinate.

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The majority of the collection was actually assembled after the Second World War.

"The majority of the collection was actually assembled after the Second World War," Stenger explained. The post-war need for reconstruction materials led to the creation of numerous gravel pits in the Rhine-Main area. During excavation, bones were unearthed that had been preserved for hundreds of thousands of years in the river's deposits. According to the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate (GDKE), rocks and fossils from various geological periods are exposed throughout the state due to construction, resource extraction, and natural erosion, offering insights into the region's billion-year history.

The artifacts in the Ice Age collection range from 20,000 to 400,000 years old. Stenger noted that temperature fluctuations allowed species like hippos to migrate into the area during that period, coexisting with mammoths. The museum relies heavily on collectors for new additions. Recently, a hobby collection from a humanities scholar was acquired, but it lacked precise find data and clear animal identification for the bones.

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The temperature fluctuations led to hippos migrating into the region at times.

This is where Stenger's meticulous work begins. He carefully unpacks and examines bones, comparing them with osteological atlases to determine their origin. "Is it a cow? A rhinoceros? Or does the bone belong to another animal genus?" he questions. Damaged pieces are delicately treated and conserved. While he can often make preliminary identifications, he leaves the precise species determination to specialized experts. Researchers from across the globe, including visitors from China and Sweden, utilize the museum's treasures for their studies, analyzing bone composition to learn more about the animals and their ancient world.

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We had Chinese collection guests, we had Swedish collection guests, who then research individual animal groups and want to look at our material. That's what this storage here is for.