Discovery of the century: 40,000-year-old mammoth bones found in Austrian wine cellar

The 40,000-year-old skeletal remains of at least 3 mammoths were discovered in a wine cellar in lower Austria, the Austrian Archaeological Institute announced on Wednesday. 

Describing the discovery as “ the most significant find of this kind in more than 100 years,” the researchers have been eagerly recovering the mammoth’s remains since mid-May.

Andreas Pernerstorfer discovered the bones while renovating his wine cellar in Gobelsburg in the district of Krems. He reported the discovery to the Federal Monuments Office, who then referred him to the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Archaeologists Thomas Einwögerer and Hannah Parow-Souchon explained the stone artifacts and charcoal found at the site indicate that the finds are between 30,000 and 40,000 years old. The “significant bone layer” had led researchers to believe that the site is home to the remains of at least three different mammoths.

"Such a dense bone layer of mammoths is rare," said Parow-Souchon. "It's the first time we've been able to investigate something like this in Austria using modern methods."

What can the discovery reveal?

"We know that humans hunted mammoths, but we still know very little about how they did it," Parow-Souchon went on to explain. It is now hypothesized, based on the multiple remains, that humans may have set a trap for the giant creatures.