Un mammouth mis au jour en Serbie
Merci à Yves Devalckeneer pour ces articles intéressants !
Phil "Fossil"
Un squelette de mammouth d'un million d'années découvert en Serbie
Actu24 - le 03 juin 2009 à 21:32
(Belga) Un squelette de mammouth, vieux d'environ un million d'années, a été mis au jour dans un excellent état de conservation près d'un site archéologique dans l'est de la Serbie, ont annoncé mercredi des médias locaux.
Le squelette a été découvert au cours des fouilles du site de Viminacium, un ancien camp militaire romain sur le Danube, a raconté l'archéologue Miomir Korac. Selon Zoran Markovic, du musée de la Nature de Serbie, le squelette "est extrêmement bien conservé, seul le crâne est légèrement abîmé". "Nous pensons que le squelette a environ un million d'années, au vu des couches géologiques où il a été trouvé", a déclaré M. Markovic. Les experts estiment que le mammouth mesurait plus de quatre mètres de haut et pesait probablement jusqu'à dix tonnes. Les archéologues estiment que l'animal était originaire d'Afrique du nord et est décédé alors qu'il se rendait en Europe méridionale.
En 1996, les restes fossiles d'un mammouth avaient été découverts près de la ville de Kikinda, dans le nord de la Serbie. Ce mammouth, vieux d'environ un demi-million d'années, avait été baptisé Kika et est vite devenu une attraction touristique.
Découverte d’un squelette de mammouth de plus d’un million d’années
Radio Srbija - le 03 juin 2009
Près du Mausolée impérial dans le Parc archéologique Viminacium près de Kostolac, à environ 80 kilomètres au sud de Belgrade est découvert un squelette du mammouth, dont on suppose qu’il a environ un million d’ans, rapporte la RTS. Le squelette bien conservé est trouvé dans la couche de sable jaune à la profondeur de 27 mètres. Il a été excavé lors des travaux d’excavation à la surface à Drmno. Le directeur du Parc archéologique Viminacium, Miomir Korac dit que le mammouth dont le squelette a été retrouvé est un descendant des mammouths tropiques qui avaient migré, il y a plus d’un million d’années, de l’Afrique du Nord en Europe et que c’est l’espèce la plus ancienne de mammouth découverte en Europe.
Million-year-old mammoth skeleton found
B92 Live - 3 June 2009 | 20:37 |
KOSTOLAC -- A skeleton of a mammoth believed to be one million years old was discovered near Kostolac in eastern Serbia.
The discovery was made at the Drmno surface coal mine, close to the Imperial Mausoleum of the Viminacium Archeological Park. The bones were found 27 meters deep, in a layer of yellow sand.
The Park's director, Miomir Korać, told B92 that it is believed the skeleton belongs to one of the oldest mammoth species found in Europe.
"We were actually very close to the spot when the machinery hit the mammoth remains and we reacted immediately," Korać recounted the moment when the skeleton was found. "We managed to stop them, and were lucky to now have almost the entire mammoth. The skull and tusks were somewhat damaged."
"What is very interesting is that the poor creature met his death and remained in a layer of some sort of gravel, which means that it is practically preserved, and not even tectonic movements have influenced it to move or dislocate. We found it the way it died," Korać continued.
"What I can say is that it was over four meters tall, and some five, six meters long, weighing over ten tons."
Unlike the mammoth found near Kikinda, in northern Serbia, whose remains are some half a million years old, this one is believed to have arrived in what is today eastern Serbia from northern Africa.
But Korać explained that about one to one and a half million years ago, mammoths from northern Africa migrated to southern Europe.
This archeologist said that the find is exceptionally important, consisting of almost the entire skeleton of a mammoth species belonging to the oldest ever found in Europe.
"Discoveries of these species of mammoth are very rare. That fact alone speaks about its value," said Korać.
The mammoth found near Kosotolac will be restored and exhibited at the Archeological Park in Viminacium – once a major Roman stronghold in the territory of today's Serbia.
Yahoo News - Wed Jun 3, 1:52 pm ET
BELGRADE– A finely preserved skeleton of a mammoth, believed to be one million years old, was uncovered near an archaeological site in eastern Serbia, local media reported on Wednesday.
The skeleton was uncovered during ongoing excavations of the site at Viminacium, a Roman military settlement on the Danube river, said archaeologist Miomir Korac.
Zoran Markovic of Serbia's Nature museum said the skeleton "is extremely well preserved, with only a slightly damaged skull.
"We believe the skeleton is about one million years old, based on the layers of the grounds where it has been found," Markovic told B92 television.
Experts estimated that the mammoth was over four metres tall (13 feet), possibly weighing up to 10 tonnes.
The animal could have died near the Danube on its way from northern Africa and to southern Europe, B92 reported.
In 1996, fossil remains of a mammoth were found near the northern Serbian town Kikinda. The mammoth, believed to be about half a million years old, was named Kika and soon become a tourist attraction.
On September 6, local authorities will organize a "Mammoth fest" to celebrate "Kika's 12th birthday," its website at www.kika-mamut.com said.