Hannibal's famous war elephants: Single bone in Spain offers first direct evidence

Historical accounts of the Punic Wars—and many other ancient wars—often paint a picture of soldiers riding in on imposing "war elephants." Yet, no skeletal remains of these war elephants had ever been found from the Punic War period and region. But, in 2020, archaeologists found a single bone at the Colina de los Quemados site in Córdoba, Spain that may finally provide some more direct evidence for the existence of these beasts of war. The finding is described in the team's newly published study, in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

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