While Renovating His Wine Cellar, This Man Discovered Woolly Mammoth Bones

Rodenberg - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only
Rodenberg - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only

During the renovation of his wine cellar in Gobelsburg, Austria, one man made an ancient discovery. Preserved within the surrounding sediment on the floor of the cellar were the remains of three woolly mammoths.

There were 300 bones in total, dating between 30,000 and 40,000-years-old. A find of this kind had not occurred for over a century.

While he was trying to level the floor of his wine cellar, Andreas Pernerstorfer accidentally happened upon the bones.

Initially, he thought they were just pieces of wood that his grandfather left behind. But then, he remembered his grandfather once told him he had found teeth in the cellar before.

Pernerstorfer notified the authorities, and a team of archaeologists from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences arrived to examine the remains.

The team excavated more than 300 bones from at least three different mammoths who died between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago.

The animals went extinct between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago. They existed mainly in the regions that are now known as Asia, Europe, and North America.

It is unclear how the mammoths ended up in the wine cellar or why they were buried together, but the researchers have their theories.

Possibly, some humans from the Stone Age set a hunting trap at the site, causing the mammoths to die together. In 2019, the remains of an ancient mammoth trap were found in Mexico.

Rodenberg – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

According to Hannah Parow-Souchon, the archaeologist who led the excavation, it is also likely that natural causes may be the reason behind their deaths.

But, it is strongly believed that humans were involved. A definitive answer cannot be made until all research is completed.

Previous discoveries have pointed to the presence of prehistoric humans in the area. For instance, jewelry, flint artifacts, and charcoal were dug up about 150 years ago in an adjacent wine cellar.

The objects were also within the same age range as the collection of mammoth bones, suggesting that they were all once part of the same site.

After the researchers conduct more thorough investigations into the bones, they will be housed in the Natural History Museum Vienna for the time being.

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Emily  Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a ... More about Emily Chan

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