Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.
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Human Evolution2.6 million-year-old jaw from extinct 'Nutcracker Man' is found where we didn't expect it The mysterious bone was unearthed in 2019 at the site of an ancient fortified village near the southern Spanish city of Córdoba. A 2,200-year-old bone unearthed in Spain may be from one of Hannibal's war elephants that was deployed during the Second Punic War, a new study reports. The baseball-size bone, found near the southern Spanish city of Córdoba, may be the only direct evidence of the Carthaginian general's war elephants, according to the study, which was published in the February issue of theUntil now, the strongest archaeological evidence of their march was what may be churned earth and other traces left by480,000-year-old ax sharpener is the oldest known elephant bone tool ever discovered in EuropeRafael Martínez Sánchez , an archaeologist at the University of Córdoba and the study's first author, told Live Science. Until now,"there has been no direct archaeological testimony for the use of these animals," he said in an email. The mysterious bone was unearthed in 2019 and initially perplexed scientists because it matched no native animal. It was recognized years later as an elephant's right carpal bone — the"ankle" of its right foreleg, which is equivalent to the wrist in humans. The researchers think this particular elephant was brought there as a beast of war by the Carthaginians. The roughly baseball-sized bone unearthed in Spain initially perplexed scientists because it came from no native animal.The bone was found during archaeological excavations at the site of a fortified Iberian village, in a layer of earthto around 2,250 years ago — before the Romans took control of the region in about 150 B.C. The Romans called such fortified villagescolony and its fleet of warships was especially feared. But its armies were also powerful, and Carthage used war elephants in the first two Punic Wars against theGet the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors It seems a Carthaginian army stationed nearby during the Second Punic War had been involved in a battle at the ancient fortified village near Córdoba — and that the elephant was killed in the fighting, the researchers wrote in the study. Other signs of a military conflict at the site included 12 spherical stones the researchers think were ammunition for Carthaginian catapults. It seemed most of the elephant's skeleton had rotted away, but the carpal bone had been protected by a collapsed wall, the researchers wrote. They do not rule out the possibility, however, that the bone had survived because it was taken as a souvenir, as it is small enough to carry.Archaeologists discover decapitated head the Romans used as a warning to the Celts Brutal lion attack 6,200 years ago severely injured teenager — but somehow he survived, skeleton found in Bulgaria reveals had used against the Romans about 10 years before the First Punic War — or a now-extinct species of African elephant that the Carthaginians preferred for their war beasts. The researchers also found spherical stones that they think were ammunition for a Carthaginian catapult.The Carthaginian general and nobleman Hannibal Barca started his famous attack on Rome in about 218 B.C., leading his armies into Italy the long way through Western Europe. Most of his war elephants died while crossing the Alps, but Hannibal's armies were victorious against the Romans in Italy for many years.Hannibal was recalled to Carthage in 203 B.C. to defend against Roman attacks there. But the Carthaginians ultimately lost their second war on Rome as they had the First Punic War more than 20 years earlier. The researchers stressed that the elephant that died near Córdoba could not have been one of the"legendary specimens" that crossed the Alps with Hannibal. However, the bone is a relic of the ancient Punic Wars for control of the Mediterranean and represents the"passage of the gigantic 'tanks of antiquity' through the peninsula," the researchers wrote. Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor who is based in London in the United Kingdom. Tom writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, the Earth and the oceans. He has also written for the BBC, NBC News, National Geographic, Scientific American, Air & Space, and many others.1,700-year-old Roman marching camps discovered in Germany — along with a multitude of artifacts like coins and the remnants of shoes Physicists push thousands of atoms to a 'Schrödinger's cat' state — bringing the quantum world closer to reality than ever before
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