Sizable Bone Unearthed in Spain Could Be From War Elephant During Punic Era

A massive bone from an elephant was unearthed on a hill in Spain. The researchers who found it were convinced the animal was involved in a combat thousands of years ago.

War Elephant Bone Found in Spain

According to researchers, the carpal bone of an "elephant of large proportions" was uncovered during excavations in Cordoba on the Los Quemados hill. Although experts have not been able to use radiocarbon dating to estimate when the elephant died, it is believed that it perished in the middle of the 1st century B.C.

Rafael Martinez, a zoologist and assistant professor of prehistory at the University of Córdoba, noted that the rare find is especially intriguing because it is a hand bone, not a tusk, used as a raw material for crafts. It might be from the time of the Punic Wars. Additionally, it might be the first time one of Hannibal's elephants has been found. Although they can't be certain, with the details, it was unquestionably large. Given the practical absence of elephant remains from a pre-Roman environment in Europe-except for, of course, ivory objects-the discovery is considered of utmost importance.

Researchers dug the bone in 2019, but it wasn't publicly announced until now. They kept it under wraps to obtain more data about it. Researchers believe that the region where the bone was discovered, which is in the center of Cordoba, may have been the scene of a significant conflict involving war elephants.

According to Fernando Quesada, a noted expert on pre-Roman weapons, seventeen projectiles made to be thrown by catapults, as well as other weapons, have been discovered at the site, though it is unclear if these are connected to the elephant bone.

Whether the elephant perished in war or for some other reason is uncertain. Although many possibilities exist, it is still too early to determine which ancient fight the elephant may have participated in. However, it probably died out during the Punic Wars or one of the later wars. Another possibility is that the bone was used during the battle in the Roman Republic's second civil war between 49 B.C. and 45 B.C. under Julius Caesar's command.

Agustín López Jiménez, an expert from Arqueobética, said they still have no evidence a battle took place at the site where the bone was found. Thus, the discovery was reportedly "a surprise."

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What Happened During the Punic Wars?

The Punic Wars, also called the Carthaginian Wars, occurred between 264 and 146 BCE. It was a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire that left Carthage in destruction, slavery of its people, and the dominance of the Romans over the western Mediterranean.

The First Punic War (264 - 241 BCE) started with a crisis in the Messana, the straits between Italy and Sicily. The conflict revolves around the rivalry in establishing control over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily.

During the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE), the Romans took the Carthaginian lands in the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula; the region in southwestern Europe split between Spain and Portugal, including Cordoba, in 206 B.C. Hannibal, regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in ancient history, led the Carthaginian army in this conflict and handed the Romans numerous noteworthy defeats.

During the Third Punic War (149 - 146 BCE), Romans destroyed the city of Carthage and turned North Africa into another province of the all-powerful Roman empire. The siege of Carthage was considered the main engagement during the war.