Archaeologists discover almost complete 300,000-year-old elephant skeleton

Archaeologists have discovered the nearly complete skeleton of an enormous, now-extinct elephant that lived about 300,000 years ago in what is now the northern German town of Schöningen, according to new research.

Although this elephant — the Eurasian straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) — likely died of old age, meat-eaters promptly devoured it; bite marks on its bones suggest that carnivores feasted on the dead beast, and flint flakes and bone tools found near the elephant indicate that humans scavenged whatever was left, the researchers said.

“The Stone Age hunters probably cut meat, tendons, and fat from the carcass,” project researcher Jordi Serangeli, head of the excavation in Schöningen, said in a statement.

The elephant died on the western side of a vast lake, a hint that it perished from natural causes.

“Elephants often remain near and in water when they are sick or old,” Ivo Verheijen, a doctoral student in archaeozoology and paleontology at the University of Tübingen, said in the statement. In addition, the elephant, a female, had worn teeth, suggesting it was old when it died, he said. 

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Researchers have found the remains of at least 10 elephants dating to the Lower Paleolithic — also known as the Old Stone Age (about 3 million to 300,000 years ago) —  over the past several years at Schöningen. But this new find is by far the most complete. The remains include 7.5-foot-long (2.3 meters) tusks — which are 125% longer than the average 6-foot-long (1.8 m) tusk of a modern African elephant, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

The researchers also found the complete lower jaw, numerous vertebrae and ribs, large bones from three of its four legs, and all five of its delicate hyoid bones, which are found in the neck and help support the tongue and voice box. 

This P. antiquus elephant had a shoulder height of about 10.5 feet (3.2 m) and would have weighed about 7.5 tons (6.8 metric tons). “It was therefore larger than today’s African elephant cows,” Verheijen said.

Near these remains, researchers found 30 small flint flakes and two long bone tools. Micro flakes embedded in these two bones suggest the ancient humans who scavenged the elephant used them to sharpen stone tools (called knapping) at the site, said project researcher Bárbara Rodríguez Álvarez, an archaeologist at the University of Tübingen. 

Of note, the ancient humans who likely scavenged the elephant were not Homo sapiens. The earliest evidence of H. sapiens in Europe dates to about 45,000 years ago, according to excavations at a cave in Bulgaria, a study published last week in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution found. Instead, these human scavengers were likely H. heidelbergensis, an extinct human relative who lived about 700,000 to 200,000 years ago, the researchers in Germany said.

Wildlife watering hole

The lake was a popular hole for elephants, according to several of their preserved footprints just 330 feet (100 m) from the new elephant excavation site. 

“A small herd of adults and younger animals must have passed through,” Flavio Altamura, a researcher at the Department of Antiquities at Sapienza University in Rome, said in the statement. “The heavy animals were walking parallel to the lakeshore. Their feet sank into the mud, leaving behind circular tracks.”

These elephants would have lived in a comfortable climate, comparable to today’s; about 300,000 years ago, Europe was in the Reinsdorf interglacial, a warmer period bookended by two glacial (or colder) periods. Other animals thrived there, too. About 20 kinds of large animals lived around the lake, including lions, bears, saber-toothed cats, rhinoceroses, wild horses, deer, and large cattle, according to excavations. “The wealth of wildlife was similar to that of modern Africa,” Serangeli said.

All of these animals attracted ancient human hunters. Archaeologists have found the remains of 10 wooden spears and one throwing stick from 300,000 years ago, according to a study published online on April 20 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. 

The new finding was uncovered in a collaborative effort between the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen in Germany and the Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage. The research will be published in the magazine “Archäologie in Deutschland” (Archaeology in Germany) and was presented at a press conference in Schöningen on May 19.

A tiny, 48-million-year-old primate Horse Looked Like a Badger

The 48-million-year-old beast could have resembled a modern-day badger, according to a reconstruction of a wild horse the size of a small dog.

Experts named the early equid ‘Propalaeotherium voigti’ after it was discovered in an oil pit in Messel, near Frankfurt, in southern Germany, in 2015.

The Messel Pit, which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in late 1995, is a decommissioned quarry that has yielded numerous amazingly preserved fossils.

These have included mammals, fish, beetles, and even crocodiles and alligators.

Propalaeotherium voigti belonged to a genus of ancestral horses that was native to both Europe and Asia during the early Eocene epoch and broadly resembled the tapirs of today’s South America and Asia.

These creatures would have weighed in at just around 22 pounds (or 10 kilograms) and stood at around 20 inches (50 centimeters) tall. 

According to experts, P. voigti would have sported a coat much like that of a modern-day deer and would have lived in small herds.

The fossilised specimen’s short neck, arched back and splayed, nail-life ‘hooflets’ — rather that the hooves of modern horses — indicate that it was adapted for a life of foraging amid the subtropical rainforests that once covered Europe.

In fact, fossil evidence from the Messel oil pit has revealed that the diminutive horses dined on berries and leaf matter that they picked from the forest floor. 

It was not be until the late Eocene — around 33.9 million years ago — that horses in general began to evolve longer legs and shift their weight onto individual toes in order to better escape predation as their habitats shifted to grassland.

It was this change, also, which resulted in the horse family moving their diet from foliage to grass — selecting for the evolution of longer, more durable teeth.

Propalaeotherium voigti is to be recognised this year — the 25th anniversary of the Messel pit obtaining UNESCO status — as the ‘heraldic animal’ by the Hessian Landesmuseum Darmstadt, which holds the largest collection of fossils from the pit.

Palaeontologist Martin Fischer of the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena collaborated with artists Amir Andikfar and Jonas Lauströer to turn a high-resolution computer tomography (or CT) scan of the specimen into a 3D reconstruction.

The reconstruction will be on display at the Hessian Landesmuseum Darmstadt from August 18, 2023.

A medieval ‘curse tablet’ summoning Satan was discovered at the bottom of a latrine in Germany

Archaeologists in Germany have discovered a rolled-up piece of lead that they think could be a medieval “curse tablet” that invokes “Beelzebub,” or Satan.

Upon first glance, the researchers thought the “inconspicuous piece of metal” was simply scrap, since it was found at the bottom of a latrine at a construction site in Rostock, a city in northern Germany, according to a translated statement.

However, once they unfurled it, archaeologists realized that the 15th-century artifact contained a cryptic message etched in Gothic minuscule that was barely visible to the naked eye. It read, “sathanas taleke belzebuk hinrik berith.”

Researchers deciphered the text as a curse that was directed toward a woman named Taleke and a man named Hinrik (Heinrich) and summoned Beelzebub (another name for Satan) and Berith (a demonic spirit).

While researchers may never know who these people were, they did offer some ideas for the reasoning behind the bad blood.

“Did someone want to break up Taleke and Heinrich’s relationship? Was this about spurned love and jealousy, should someone be put out of the way?” the researchers asked in the statement.

Archaeologists said the finding was unique, especially since similar “curse tablets are actually known from ancient times in the Greek and Roman regions from 800 B.C. to A.D. 600,” Jörg Ansorge, an archaeologist with the University of Greifswald in Germany who led the excavation, said in the statement.

For instance, a 1,500-year-old lead tablet inscribed in Greek and found in what is now Israel calls on demons to harm a rival dancer, while 2,400-year-old tablets found in Greece ask the underworld gods to target several tavern keepers.

“Our discovery, on the other hand, can be dated to the 15th century,” Ansorge said. “This is truly a very special find.”

Researchers weren’t surprised to find the artifact at the bottom of a latrine, considering that curse tablets “were placed where they were difficult or impossible to find” by those who have been cursed, according to the statement.

125,000 Years Ago Neanderthals Hunted Elephants Much Larger Than Extinct Woolly Mammoths

Hunting the now-extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) was widespread among Neanderthals, concludes a research team.

In the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences scientists write that they have closely examined the bones of elephants that are approximately 125,000 years old that were discovered in Gröbern in Saxony-Anhalt and Taubach in Thuringia, Germany, decades ago.

They were able to identify cut marks made by stone tools used by the Neanderthals that indicate that the animals must have been hunted before they were extensively butchered.

It was two years ago, during the analysis of bones found at the Neumark-Nord site in a former lignite mine in Saxony-Anhalt, that the same team discovered the very first evidence that Neanderthals actively hunted straight-tusked elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene.

“The results of the more recent examination of the bones from Gröbern and Taubach now show that the hunting of these elephants by Neanderthals was not an isolated phenomenon but must have been a more regular activity,” emphasized Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Professor of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at JGU and Director of the Archaeological Research Center and Museum of Human Behavioral Evolution MONREPOS in Neuwied, an institute run under the aegis of LEIZA.

Gaudzinski-Windheuser was extensively involved in the investigation of the bones from Gröbern and Taubach as well as the previous study of the bones from the Neumark-Nord site.

Palaeoloxodon antiquus roamed the landscapes of Europe and Western Asia 800,000 to 100,000 years ago.

With shoulder heights of up to 4 meters and body masses of up to 13 tons, the European straight-tusked elephant was the largest land-living animal at the time, significantly larger than today’s African and Asian elephants and even bigger than the extinct wooly mammoth.

“We have estimated that the meat and fat supplied by the body of an adult Palaeoloxodon antiquus bull would have been sufficient to satisfy the daily calorie intake of at least 2,500 adult Neanderthals,” explained Gaudzinski-Windheuser.

“This is a significant number because it furnishes us with new insights into the behavior of Neanderthals.

So far, for instance, researchers had generally assumed that Neanderthals associated in groups of no more than 20 individuals.

However, the information now obtained in relation to the systematic exploitation of straight-tusked elephants indicates that Neanderthals must have gathered, at least temporarily, in larger groups or mastered techniques that allowed them to preserve and store large quantities of foodstuffs—or both.

Seven Bronze Age Swords And Large Hoard Of Slavic Coins Found In Germany

Seven impressive Bronze Age swords and a large hoard of Slavic coins have been unearthed by volunteer archaeologists in Germany. The find was made in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Ministry of Science, Culture, Federal, and European Affairs announced in a press release that the seven swords were found in fragments near Mirow (Mecklenburg Lake District).

It can be assumed that they came to the surface some time ago when a trench was being dredged and spread over a larger area with the dredged material.

Originally, the swords were probably sunk into the lowlands as consecration or sacrificial offerings. Although such deposits of valuable items are not unusual, many Bronze Age swords have never been discovered in one place in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Scientific dating has shown that the swords date back to the Bronze Age. Their age is estimated at around 3,000 years.

The finders meticulously tracked down the individual fragments, making it possible to assemble the swords almost completely.

The recovery was carried out together with an excavation technician from the state archaeology department.

The 6,000 silver coins from the 11th century were found on Rügen, Germany’s largest island. They were scattered over a larger area, but most of them were in a clay pot.

The coins were also found by volunteer conservationists, more precisely by the “De Ackerlöper” working group.

The origins of the coins are very different. Some of the coins are from Western Germany, while others can be traced to the Meißen-Upper Lusatia region. About 10 percent of the coins come from England, Denmark, Bohemia, and Hungary.

The unearthed coins reflect trade relationships in the 11th century. Scientists point out that this is the largest Slavic coin hoard of the post-war period to date.

Another very unusual find is the reliquary containers that were found in the Mecklenburg Lake District. A volunteer conservationist discovered the treasure during an inspection. In a pot with around 1,700 coins were neck and finger rings, a pearl necklace (with gold, rock crystal, and carnelian beads), and two reliquary containers.

The researcher explained that the two reliquary containers offer surprising evidence of the Christian faith in an area that was still largely influenced by other beliefs at the time.

“Around 250 volunteers are currently active in the preservation of archaeological monuments. About the same number are currently undergoing relevant training. They are indispensable for preserving our cultural heritage in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” Culture Minister Bettina Martin said, highlighting the work of the volunteer archaeological preservationists in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany

Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed the foundations of two temples and a shallow, circular ditch at a former Roman camp.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of two Roman temples and a sacrificial pit in Germany.

The building remnants, located at the site of a former Roman camp known as Haltern in northwestern Germany, are the first known instances of temples found at a Roman military site, according to a translated statement.

During excavations, archaeologists unearthed the clay frameworks of the rectangular buildings.

The last time researchers explored the site was in 1928, but the findings were since reburied to help preserve the existing structures.

The twin temples were once part of a larger building complex that measured roughly 21,500 square feet (2,000 square meters).

Archaeologists initially thought one of the buildings was used as a meeting house, or “schola,” for military officials and later as a workshop, based on some of the tools found strewn about the site. They’re currently not sure of the second building’s purpose.

“[The constructions] were based on the typical large podium temples made of stone that could be found in numerous Roman cities at the time of Emperor Augustus,” Bettina Tremmel, an archaeologist with the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL) in Germany, said in the statement.

Augustus, the great-nephew and adopted heir of Julius Caesar, ruled as the empire’s first emperor from 31 B.C. to A.D. 14.

Between the two structures, researchers found a shallow, circular sacrificial pit—a surprising find, considering “the construction of a grave within a settlement was forbidden under Roman law,” according to the statement.

No human remains have been found at the site thus far.

“In our current state of research, the two small temples and the niche building with the burning pit are a unique building group within a Roman camp,” Michael Rind, director of archaeology at LWL, said in the statement.

“Previous archaeologists have already puzzled over the function of these buildings.”

Skeleton with 4 prosthetic metal fingers unearthed from centuries-old grave in Germany

Archaeologists in Germany have unearthed a skeleton with a metal prosthetic hand still attached to its left arm, replacing fingers that had likely been amputated.

An analysis revealed the prosthetic contraption was once covered in leather and strapped to the individual’s arm with bandages.

The skeleton, discovered in the southern town of Freising, belonged to a man aged 30 to 50 who died between the years 1450 and 1620, government officials announced in a translated statement on Oct. 27.

“The hollow prosthetic on the left hand replaced four fingers,” Walter Irlinger, deputy of the general conservator at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, said in the statement. “The index, middle, ring and little fingers are individually molded out of sheet metal and are immobile.”

Marks on the remaining left hand bones suggest the fingers were amputated while the man was alive, but it remains unclear why surgeons had to perform the procedure. A thumb bone found cemented to the corroded metal prosthetic indicates the patient kept his thumb.

Archaeologists removed the hand wearing the prosthetic from the skeleton for restoration work and analysis. Scans revealed it was a simple metal contraption with scraps of fabric and leather stuck to the finger replicas, showing the outside of the prosthetic hand was at least partially covered, according to the statement.

Remains of a gauze-like material inside the hollow fingers indicate the prosthetic device may have been padded to protect the hand stump from the metal.

The fingers were slightly curved and lay parallel to each other to imitate the natural resting position of a hand, Irlinger said. 

The discovery suggests medicine at this time was concerned with the wellbeing of amputees and found solutions to make life easier for them, officials said in the statement.

The skeleton dates to a period marked by military conflicts that may have led to a high number of injuries and amputations, which likely heightened the demand for prosthetics in and around Freising.

The prosthetic hand is not the first of its kind to be unearthed. Archaeologists have described around 50 similar medical devices found across Central Europe and dating from the late Middle Ages (1300 to 1500) to the early modern period (1500 to 1800).

Unlike the stiff contraption discovered in Freising, some of these prosthetic limbs had sophisticated, movable parts, the statement said.

One of the oldest prosthetics on record is a 3,000-year-old wooden toe discovered on an ancient Egyptian mummy. 

Extremely Rare Medieval Folding Chair Reveals Its Secrets

In 2022, archaeologists made a very unusual find. A medieval folding chair was discovered in a woman’s grave in Steinsfeld, in Central Franconia, in the Ansbach district of Germany.

Examinations of the woman’s skeleton showed she was around 40 to 50 when she died. The dead woman had a necklace of colored glass beads around her neck.

At the time of the discovery, the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments was only the second to discover an iron folding chair from the early Middle Ages in Germany.

Across Europe, 29 sites of early medieval graves with folding chairs have been handed down, only six of which are made of iron.

According to the state office, it dates from around 600 AD, i.e., from the early Middle Ages. When folded, the chair, which was about 70 by 45 centimeters in size, had been placed at the feet of the dead.

In a recent press statement, scientists announced the remarkable 1,400-year-old folding chair’s secrets would be revealed to the public.

Experts have worked for almost a year with the medieval chair. In the summer of 2023, scientists decided to excavate the medieval chair and restore and preserve it for future generations.

It was a delicate and time-consuming task. The results of these efforts are a success and give the public an excellent opportunity to investigate this unusual medieval object in more detail.

One computer tomographic examination quickly made it clear that the folding chair was almost completely preserved and was even decorated with inlays—in this case, brass non-ferrous metal inlays.

According to scientists, the folding chair is made up of two frames connected with an axle pin. There are two narrow slots in the horizontal struts. These were used to attach the seat, which was probably made of animal fur, as indicated by mineralized organic remains. The decorative motifs range from spirals to diamond herringbone patterns.

“The extremely rare find of an early Medieval iron folding chair in August 2022 was already a sensation, but after remaining in the ground for over 1,400 years, receiving such a density of details was a surprise even for the BLfD experts.

Using the latest technology and highly experienced scientific support, the spectacular, internationally acclaimed find of the century could literally be done again be put on its feet, “Professor Mathias Pfeil, head of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, said.

“This find, which at first glance seems so modern, is an absolute rarity and of the greatest cultural-historical interest because it gives an insight into the burial equipment of prominent sections of the population and into the early use of furniture,” Professor Pfeil added.

People have been making iron and bronze folding chairs since ancient times. They were considered essential official signs and symbolized power, authority, and dignity.