Giant prehistoric mammoth bones were recently uncovered in an unusual place – a wine cellar in Austria.
- A man was renovating his wine cellar in Vienna when he made the extraordinary discovery
- He found several massive bones buried deep underground
- Researchers say the mammoth remains are a scarce and sensational find
Could these giant bones over 10,000 years old reveal secrets about the mighty mammoths that once roamed this region?
Massive Bones Uncovered
According to Hannah Pรฉrissutti, a researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute, the wine cellar owner was digging in his cellar when he hit something hard – enormous bones!
His grandfather had found a mammoth tooth there years earlier. So when the current owner saw the giant bones, he immediately suspected they were from an ancient mammoth.
“The wine seller owner dug into his cellar and immediately found these large bones,” said Pรฉrissutti. “His grandfather had already found a mammoth tooth, so he recognized they probably belonged to a mammoth.”
Unmistakable Mammoth Remains
How could the researchers be so sure the remains were from a real woolly mammoth? Pรฉrissutti explained that mammoth bones have some distinct traits that set them apart.
“Mammoths have molars which are about this size and roundish with a unique layered structure,” she said, holding up one of the giant tooth samples. “If you see a bone like this, you immediately know it’s a mammoth bone.”
The most obvious clue was the mammoth’s lower jaw bone, which still had its trademark massive molars intact. These powerful chompers were designed to munch the thorny vegetation mammoths survived on during the last ice age.
Rare and Exciting Discovery
For archaeologists like Pรฉrissutti, finding a complete set of mammoth bones like this is an infrequent and exciting event. This was her first time excavating mammoth fossils in Austria.
“I always wanted to excavate a mammoth,” she said excitedly. “I never imagined this would be my first excavation in Austria. I’m thrilled!”
The team has relocated the mammoth fossils to a lab for further analysis. They will work to uncover more details about this ice-age beast, how old the bones are, and what happened to the mammoth.
Questions About Ancient Giants
Experts have many remaining questions about these extinct mammoth relatives of today’s elephants:
- Why did mammoths go extinct around 10,000 years after surviving the ice age?
- What can their bones tell us about their habitat and how they lived?
- Could studying mammoths provide insights into how living elephant species can be protected?
Although much remains unknown, this rare mammoth fossil foundfound in an Austrian cellar is vital to piecing together the prehistoric puzzle. Who knows what other clues about these ancient giants may still be uncovered?
The screenshot is taken from – edition.cnn.com