Ancient Bone May Be First Proof of Hannibal's Elephants

That syncs with the Punic Wars (264-146 BC) fought by the Carthaginian general for control of the Mediterranean, and evidence found near the bone (including catapult ammunition) suggests the animal died in a battle zone. "[T]his is the first time an elephant bone remnant linked to that chronology has been found in Iberia and, to our knowledge, in Europe," Rafael Martínez Sánchez of the University of Córdoba tells IFLScience. Using radiocarbon dating and comparisons with bones from modern elephants and steppe mammoths, the researchers concluded the fragment likely came from an elephant that died before Hannibal's army reached the mountain range.

Author: John Johnson with Newser.AI

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