Large Bones Discovered on Riverbed as Water Levels Drop from Historic Drought: What They Really Are

A Large Cluster of Mammoth Bones Discovered Near Ruse, Bulgaria
Danube River Water Levels Plunge to Just One-Third of the Seasonal Average
"Discovery of Ancient Remains of Great Scientific Significance"

Mammoth bones, believed to have lived during the Ice Age, have emerged from the bottom of the Danube River in Bulgaria, where water levels have fallen due to a historic drought.

Mammoth bones, believed to have lived during the Ice Age, have emerged from the bottom of the Danube River in Bulgaria. Facebook page of the Rousse Regional History Museum

On July 30 (local time), Yonhap News reported, citing Agence France-Presse (AFP), that a large number of bones, believed to belong to mammoths, have been discovered near Rousse in northeastern Bulgaria along the Danube River. The day before, a resident passing by the riverbed near Lyakhovo village in Rousse Province spotted some unfamiliar bones exposed on the riverbed, which was laid bare by receding waters. The resident photographed the bones and reported the discovery to the local environmental department and the Rousse Regional History Museum.

Museum experts visited the site that same day and began a formal recovery operation the following day. According to the museum, the identified remains so far include parts such as a lower jawbone, fragments of tusks, part of a scapula, and a femur with the joint head still attached. Based on the size of the bones, the museum believes they likely belonged to a young, not fully grown mammoth. The dark coloration, almost black, is another clue. This trait is mainly found in remains of animals that died in swampy areas and is thought to result from the surrounding mud composition. However, the museum emphasized that these are still only hypotheses at this stage.

The museum has also suggested that the Lyakhovo area may be a sedimentary zone where various animal remains carried by the river have accumulated. Given the characteristics of the terrain, remains from not only mammoths but also other animals may be interred together. Experts are now preparing to conduct a renewed survey of the area to search for additional remains.

Woolly mammoths lived during the same period as early humans. Humans hunted these animals for food and used their ivory and bones as materials for tools. The last population of woolly mammoths is believed to have survived until about 4,000 years ago on Wrangel Island in Russia, coinciding with the period when the pyramids of Egypt were being built. Over the years, scholars have recovered not only ivory and bones but also teeth and even hair from mammoths, with these efforts spanning several decades.

Mammoth bones revealed on the riverbed as water levels drop due to drought. Facebook page of the Lucé Regional History Museum

The Danube River originates in the Black Forest of southwestern Germany and flows through 10 countries before reaching the Black Sea, making it the second-longest river in Europe. Since May, rainfall has been drastically below normal, and successive heat waves have led to record-low water levels in most sections of the river. According to Romania's National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, on July 28 the river’s flow at its entry point to Romania dropped to 1,650 cubic meters per second, just one-third the typical July average of 4,750 cubic meters per second. The Rhine River, another major logistics artery in Europe, has also seen water levels fall due to drought.

With the water receding, objects that had long been submerged on the riverbed have started to emerge. This summer, remains of ships sunk during World War II and other submerged structures have appeared on the Danube. Traces that had been hidden beneath the water for decades have all been exposed at once. Among these findings, the mammoth bones are the oldest artifacts uncovered so far and have attracted particular attention.

Nikolay Nenov, Director of the Rousse Regional History Museum, explained that the excellent preservation of the bones and the fact that, unlike previous cases, they were all found in one place, suggests that the remains likely belong to a single individual, adding to their scientific value. He stated, "The discovery of such ancient remains is of great scientific significance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.