In Gobelsburg, Lower Austria (Krems district), a winemaker came across noticeably large bones during renovation work in his wine cellar. Experts believe the mammoth remains are the “most important find of this type in more than 100 years.”
The bones that gradually came to light in Andreas Pernerstorfer’s wine cellar are probably between 30,000 and 40,000 years old. After reporting the find to the Federal Monuments Office, researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI) of the Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) started excavations in mid-May. The ÖAW spoke of an “archaeological sensation” in a broadcast on Wednesday afternoon.
At least three animals
Archaeologists Thomas Einwögerer and Hannah Parow-Souchon have now uncovered several layers containing the remains of the giant Ice Age animals. There are probably bones from at least three animals. “It is rare for mammoths to have such a dense layer of bone. It is the first time that we have been able to investigate something like this in Austria with modern means,” said Parow-Souchon, head of the excavation funded by the Federal Monuments Office and the state of Lower Austria.
In recent years, the remains of individual mammoths have been found once or twice, for example during road works, but the ensemble in Gobelsburg stands out. By the way, the last comparable find in Austria was made not far from the current excavation site.
Similar find 150 years ago
150 years ago, in an adjacent wine cellar in Gobelsburg, “a thick bone layer and cultural layers containing flint artifacts, jewelry fossils and charcoal were discovered,” according to the ÖAW publication: “During the excavation there, the affected cellars were completely cleared, as were other similar sites. The majority of excavations in Austria and neighboring countries date from at least 100 years ago and have largely been lost to modern research.”
Experts hope for new clues
Stone artifacts and charcoal remains also came to light in the area of the new excavation. This could have been a place where Stone Age people once rounded up or trapped and killed the enormous animals. It is hoped that the unusual discovery situation will provide new information about how people organized and conducted the hunt for the animals at the time:
Source: Krone
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