11,000-Year-Old Fossils Discovered at DFW Airport

A bison femur (top) and a woolly mammoth tooth found at DFW Airport earlier this month. DFW Airport

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Workers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport discovered a cache of ice-age era fossils earlier this month, airport officials announced Tuesday afternoon.

A bison thigh bone and a tooth from a woolly mammoth are the first of their kind found at the airport. Officials aren't disclosing where they were discovered "in the interest of safety for our customers and the property itself," the airport said Tuesday on Facebook.

During the initial construction of the airport in the '60's, workers building one of the terminals discovered a prehistoric plesiosaur fossil. The 25-foot relic was on display at the airport for decades before being removed sometime during the 21st century. 

Hi, Larry - this was on display at Terminal C but has since been removed. The fossils were found while building Terminal B (2W) in the 60's. pic.twitter.com/aJqQ6ctZfP

— DFW Airport (@DFWAirport) April 10, 2017

The fossils discovered this month will be taken to SMU for safekeeping and research, according to the airport.

click to enlarge

Two woolly mammoth teeth

DFW Airport

To paraphrase the best joke from the airport's thread about the fossils, it isn't clear whether the bison and mammoth to which the bones initially belonged were waiting for lost baggage or a canceled flight.