Published May 25, 2024
By Aristos Georgiou
Science and Health Reporter
A set of mammoth bones have been discovered in a wine cellar in Austria during renovation works.
The remains, which could represent at least three individual animals, are thought to be between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.
A local winegrower, Andreas Pernerstorfer, made the finds in his wine cellar, which is located in Gobelsburg, in the district of Krems, west of Vienna.
After spotting the bones, Pernerstorfer, reported the finds to the Austrian Federal Monuments Office, which then referred the winegrower to the Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW).
Science and Health Reporter
A set of mammoth bones have been discovered in a wine cellar in Austria during renovation works.
The remains, which could represent at least three individual animals, are thought to be between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.
A local winegrower, Andreas Pernerstorfer, made the finds in his wine cellar, which is located in Gobelsburg, in the district of Krems, west of Vienna.
After spotting the bones, Pernerstorfer, reported the finds to the Austrian Federal Monuments Office, which then referred the winegrower to the Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW).
An archaeologist beside the mammoth bones discovered in a wine cellar in Gobelsburg, Austria. The mammoth bones in the cellar could be up to 40,000 years old.
© OEAW-OEAI/HANNAH PAROW-SOUCHON
A statement issued by the OeAW described the discovery as the most significant of its kind in the country for more than 100 years.
Archaeologists have uncovered several layers of mammoth bones in the wine cellar, as well as stone artifacts and charcoal. These latter finds helped to shed light on the age of the mammoth bones.
"Such a dense bone layer of mammoths is rare. It's the first time we've been able to investigate something like this in Austria using modern methods," Hannah Parow-Souchon with the OeAW, who is leading the excavation at the wine cellar site, said in a press release.
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Around 150 years ago, a similar discovery was made in Gobelsburg. Then, researchers uncovered a thick layer of bones, alongside flint artifacts, decorative fossils and charcoal, in an adjacent cellar in Gobelsburg.
The latest discovery from Gobelsburg could help shed light on how prehistoric humans hunted mammoths.
"We know that humans hunted mammoths, but we still know very little about how they did it," Parow-Souchon said.
Archaeologists suggest that the location where the mammoth bones were found in Pernerstorfer's cellar could be the place where the animals died. It is possible that people chased the creatures into this spot and set some kind of trap for them.
Researchers are currently examining the mammoth remains in an attempt to uncover new insights. The remains will subsequently be transferred to the Natural History Museum Vienna, where the bones will be restored.
Earlier this year, researchers discovered hundreds of prehistoric animal bones—including the remains of a cave lion and a mammoth—at a cave in Poland.
The so-called Paradise Cave (Jaskinia Raj), located in the country's Świętokrzyskie region, is considered one of the most significant archaeological sites in the country.
"Paradise Cave is one of the most famous and important archaeological sites in Poland, and we actually know very little about it," Małgorzata Kot of the Faculty of Archeology at the University of Warsaw, who is supervising the current research, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
A statement issued by the OeAW described the discovery as the most significant of its kind in the country for more than 100 years.
Archaeologists have uncovered several layers of mammoth bones in the wine cellar, as well as stone artifacts and charcoal. These latter finds helped to shed light on the age of the mammoth bones.
"Such a dense bone layer of mammoths is rare. It's the first time we've been able to investigate something like this in Austria using modern methods," Hannah Parow-Souchon with the OeAW, who is leading the excavation at the wine cellar site, said in a press release.
Exclusively Available to SubscribersTry it now for $1
Around 150 years ago, a similar discovery was made in Gobelsburg. Then, researchers uncovered a thick layer of bones, alongside flint artifacts, decorative fossils and charcoal, in an adjacent cellar in Gobelsburg.
The latest discovery from Gobelsburg could help shed light on how prehistoric humans hunted mammoths.
"We know that humans hunted mammoths, but we still know very little about how they did it," Parow-Souchon said.
Archaeologists suggest that the location where the mammoth bones were found in Pernerstorfer's cellar could be the place where the animals died. It is possible that people chased the creatures into this spot and set some kind of trap for them.
Researchers are currently examining the mammoth remains in an attempt to uncover new insights. The remains will subsequently be transferred to the Natural History Museum Vienna, where the bones will be restored.
Earlier this year, researchers discovered hundreds of prehistoric animal bones—including the remains of a cave lion and a mammoth—at a cave in Poland.
The so-called Paradise Cave (Jaskinia Raj), located in the country's Świętokrzyskie region, is considered one of the most significant archaeological sites in the country.
"Paradise Cave is one of the most famous and important archaeological sites in Poland, and we actually know very little about it," Małgorzata Kot of the Faculty of Archeology at the University of Warsaw, who is supervising the current research, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
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