After digging in a 17th century Austrian cellar, archaeologists have found an intact Ottoman war camel. This shows that back then, camels were a valuable riding animal in the Ottoman army. According to BBC, the DNA analysis showed that the war camel was a Bactrian-dromedary hybrid which was popular in the army during that time.
It is suspected that the camel was either left behind or traded in the town of Tulln before the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683.
Here's what happened.
The researchers were digging through a filled-in cellar in which ancient household rubbish, flagons, plates and pans were dumped in. During that digging, the researchers came across something very unusual - it was a completely intact skeleton.
At first sight, they thought that the skeleton must've been of a horse according to the vertebrae. Here's what Dr Galik, one of the researchers told the BBC "First I saw the mandible, which looked a bit like a strange-shaped cattle; then I saw the cervical vertebrae, which looked like a horse.
Finally, the long bones and metapodials (the foot bones) identified the skeleton as a camel."
It is the first intact skeleton of an animal found in central Europe. Other skeletons have been reported that include several of them dating back to the Roman era.
After the genetic tests, the researchers confirmed that the camel was cross-bred, which was not an unusual thing at that time. It was born to a one-humped dromedary mother and a two-humped Bactrian father.
"Such crossbreeding was not unusual at the time. Hybrids were easier to handle, more enduring, and larger than their parents. These animals were especially suited for military use."
After further analysis, the researchers found out that the camel, though, did had some wear-and-tear in the skeleton, it was a valuable animal which was well-cared for. It is surprising to think that the town in which it was found, was surrounded by the Ottomans, but the camel was never captured.
