Take a walk around the Lee Valley today and you’re unlikely to come up against anything more menacing than an enthusiastic cocker spaniel. It’s quite a shock then to discover that amongst its many artefacts which are steeped in local history Lowewood Museum is also home to a woolly mammoth tooth.  And not just any woolly mammoth tooth as this mind bogglingly large incisor was found within our very own Lee Valley gravels.

A Woolly Mammoth's tooth, which is on display at the museum

Growing up to 3m in height and with tusks that are known to have reached nearly 16ft in length the intimidating size of the woolly mammoth was not actually a reflection of its character. Much like today’s elephant the woolly mammoths were herbivores, surviving on plants, grass and tree parts. Whilst it is thought that the mammoths may have used their colossal tusks to shovel away snow and unearth the vegetation below, recent studies have suggested that during the last ice age many were forced to eat their own dung just to stay alive. Unfortunately this unsavoury technique was not enough to ensure their survival and around 10,000 years ago the woolly mammoth became extinct.

This gentle giant was just one of many unexpected animals to have roamed the Lee Valley in years gone by.  An equally hairy local was the woolly rhinoceros, a breed which was larger than today’s white rhino and whose horn is also believed to have been used to sweep away snow.  The presence of both animals in this area is particularly interesting as they were physically designed to endure cold conditions, adding weight to the evidence which suggests arctic tundra 8 feet below the earth at Grundy Park.