7 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

40.000-Year-Old Mammoth Bones Discovered in a Wine Cellar in Austria

A winemaker has discovered mammoth bones up to 30,000 to 40,000 years old in a wine cellar in Lower Austria.  It is the most important find of its kind in more than 100 years.

While renovating the wine cellar in Gobelsburg, a local winemaker in the Krems region of Lower Austria found around 300 mammoth bones, the likes of which haven’t been spotted in a century. Archaeologists now confirm that the cellar and surrounding area can be classified as “a significant bone site,” containing the remains of at least three mammoths after he reported the find in mid-May!

Andreas Pernerstorfer reported the discoveries to the Federal Monuments Office as soon as he discovered them. The Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) was then tasked with conducting additional research on Pernerstorfer’s discovery.

Bones from three different mammoths

Since mid-May, archaeologists from the ÖAW have uncovered several layers of mammoth bones. The stone artifacts and charcoal finds discovered there indicate that the finds are between 30,000 and 40,000 years old, according to archaeologist Thomas Einwögerer and his colleague Hannah Parow-Souchon. They assume an “important bone site” that contains remains of at least three different mammoths.

Photo: © ÖAW-ÖAI/H. Parow-Souchon

“Such a dense mammoth bone layer is rare,” says Hannah Parow-Souchon, who leads the excavation. “It’s the first time that we’ve been able to investigate something like this in Austria using modern means.”



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The last time comparable finds were made in Austria was 150 years ago, also in the district of Krems. At that time, a thick bone layer as well as cultural layers with flint artifacts, decorative fossils, and charcoal were discovered in an adjacent cellar in Gobelsburg.

“We think we have mostly the complete animals. They’re not in anatomical connection but we do probably have all parts,” Hannah Parow-Souchon said, adding that the recovered haul includes some rare finds, including a lingual (tongue) bone.”

Hannah-Parow-Souchon (right) explains the locations of the mammoth bones to the Langenlois City Councillor for Culture, Sonja Fragner and the owner of the wine cellar, Andreas Pernestorfer (Left). Photo: Einwogerer /OeAW-OeAI
Hannah-Parow-Souchon (right) explains the locations of the mammoth bones to the Langenlois City Councillor for Culture, Sonja Fragner and the owner of the wine cellar, Andreas Pernestorfer (Left). Photo: Einwogerer /OeAW-OeAI

The find in Gobelsburg certainly raises many exciting questions, such as how Stone Age people were able to hunt these huge animals. “We know that humans hunted mammoths, but we still know very little about how they did it,” says OeAW researcher Parow-Souchon. Bones from three different mammoths were found: The place where they were found could be the place where the animals died. Humans could have chased them there and set a trap for them.

The find is currently being examined by the researchers and will subsequently be handed over to the Natural History Museum Vienna, where the bones will be restored. The excavations were funded by the Federal Monuments Office and the province of Lower Austria.

Austrian Academy of Sciences

Cover Photo: © ÖAW-ÖAI/H. Parow-Souchon

Related Articles

A Gold Mourning Ring Found on The Isle of Man

21 April 2021

21 April 2021

The ring found with a metal detector on the Isle of Man in December 2020 will be exhibited in the...

The circular-shaped structure unearthed in Uşaklı mound may point to the holy Hittite city of Zippalanda

27 December 2022

27 December 2022

Italian-Turkish team of archaeologists led by the University of Pisa unearthed a mysterious circle-shaped structure from the Hittite era at...

Places to Visit in Oman

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

There are many places to visit in Oman. In this article, we wanted to talk about a wonderful country that...

Europe’s oldest grave of a newborn girl found in İtaly

15 December 2021

15 December 2021

An international team of researchers has found Europe’s oldest tomb of a newborn girl, dating back 10,000 years, in Liguria....

Medieval Hub of Arts & Crafts Center discovered in Nola: The discovery could rewrite the history of early medieval Nola

23 August 2023

23 August 2023

On the outskirts of Nola, a district from the early Middle Ages has been discovered. According to the Soprintendenza Archeologia,...

Centuries-Old Shipwrecks in Costa Rica Identified as Danish Slave Ships

5 May 2025

5 May 2025

Marine archaeologists have definitively identified two long-known shipwrecks off the coast of Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica as the...

Explore 1,400-year-old ruins, submerged in Eastern China – Atlantis of China

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Deep in Qiandao Lake, between China’s Five Lion Mountains, lie the mysterious ruins of two ancient cities, dating back to...

A Temple Guardian From The 13th Century Found At Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

17 September 2024

17 September 2024

While clearing rubble from a collapsed gate at the Banteay Prei Temple within Cambodia’s Angkor Wat Archaeological Park, workers stumbled...

‘Roman numerals’ discovered on Stone of Destiny ahead of King Charles III coronation

8 April 2023

8 April 2023

New research has revealed previously unrecorded markings that appear to be Roman numerals on the Stone of Destiny, considered one...

A Monument complex and inscription belonging to Ilteris Kutlug Kagan, the founder of the Eastern Göktürk Khanate, were found

24 August 2022

24 August 2022

A Turkish inscription of İlteriş Kutlug Kağan was found during the joint scientific archaeological expedition of the International Turkic Academy...

Japan’s Oldest Multiplication Table Discovered in Nara, Dating Back 1,300 Years

7 September 2024

7 September 2024

A strip of wood discovered in the ruins of Fujiwara Palace in Nara Prefecture turned out to be part of...

Statue Head of Goddess Tyche Discovered in Bulgaria

8 December 2024

8 December 2024

A remarkably crafted head of a large statue of the Greek goddess Tyche was recently unearthed during the excavations of...

Could the Kerkenes Settlement be Gordion the Second?

1 August 2022

1 August 2022

Although the settlement on the Kerkenes mountain, located within the borders of Sorgun district of Yozgat, has been known and...

A 13th-Century Italian Fresco Reveals the Medieval Church’s Use of Islamic Altar Tents

3 February 2025

3 February 2025

A recently rediscovered 13th-century fresco in Ferrara, Italy, offers significant insights into the medieval practice of utilizing Islamic tents to...

New Discoveries of Sanxingdui Ancient City to be Announced

19 March 2021

19 March 2021

Sanxingdui, which literally means “Stacks of Three Stars”, is a cultural relic of the Kingdom of Shu in ancient China....