  We find a distinct stellar population in the counter-rotating and
kinematically decoupled core of the isolated massive elliptical galaxy NGC
1700. Coinciding with the edge of this core we find a significant change in the
slope of the gradient of various representative absorption line indices. Our
age estimate for this core is markedly younger than the main body of the
galaxy. We find lower values for the age, metallicity and Mg/Fe abundance ratio
in the center of this galaxy when we compare them with other isolated
elliptical galaxies with similar velocity dispersion. We discuss the different
possible scenarios that might have lead to the formation of this younger
kinematically decoupled structure and conclude that, in light of our findings,
the ingestion of a small stellar companion on a retrograde orbit is the most
favoured.
