A man renovating a wine cellar in Austria made an extraordinary discovery. It’s not vintage red or white, but the remains of a prehistoric mammoth.
Researchers at the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAW) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences called the discovery “a sensation in the archaeological world.”
Winemaker Andreas Pernerstorfer discovered some giant bones deep in his wine cellar in the village of Goebelsberg in the Krems district west of Vienna.
He reported his findings to authorities, who confirmed they were the bones of at least three Stone Age mammoths.
Mr Penastorfer told the Austrian broadcaster (ORF) that he was renovating his wine cellar when he discovered the situation.
“I thought it was just a piece of wood that my grandfather had left behind. But then I dug it up a little bit, and then I remembered that my grandfather said he found teeth. And I immediately thought it was a mammoth,” he said.
Researchers at the Austrian Archaeological Institute have been excavating the bones since mid-May.
Archaeologists Thomas Einwögerer and Hannah Parow-Souchon said stone artefacts and charcoal found at the site suggested the bones were between 30,000 and 40,000 years old.
The last time a similar discovery was made was 150 years ago, also in the Krems region, the institute said.
“During the excavations, the associated cellars were completely cleared. Other similar sites in Austria and neighboring countries were mostly excavated at least 100 years ago but have largely been lost to modern research.
Ms Parro-Suchon said this was the first time they had been able to investigate such a find in Austria “using modern methods”.
Researchers say the discovery raises questions about how people hunted mammoths in the Stone Age.
“We know that humans hunted mammoths, but we still know very little about how they did it,” Ms. Parro-Suchon said.
They believe the mammoths may have died where the bones were found – and humans may have set traps for them and chased them.
Once exhumed, the bones will be taken to the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
