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 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 its 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.
The skeleton of the female mammoth was found 27 meters deep, in a layer of yellow sand. The 4.5-meter tall, six-meter long animal, weighing some ten tons, is believed to have arrived to the Balkans from north Africa.
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.
Deputy PM Božidar Đelić, who visited the site on Saturday, said that what the mammoth now needs is – a name.
Some media, however, are apparently ahead of the minister, already referring to it as "Vika".
The skeleton will not be taken to Belgrade; instead, it will be exhibited at the park, Korać said.
Đelić described the discovery and the Roman site nearby as an "important commercial chance for Serbia".
"The search is on for the name, and I'm calling on all Serbians to propose one, so that we can christen this mammoth of ours, the oldest in the Balkans. At this point, some 50-60,000 people visit Viminacium every year. Our goal is to have 300,000 come here."
"This is absolutely achievable, we are Roman land," Đelić was quoted as saying, and adding, "Viminacium is one of 12 sites where we can show everything that the Roman Empire has left on our country's soil."
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