During some archaeological excavations in Cordoba, in southern Spain, archaeologists found a very particular context, almost certainly linked to a war episode that occurred around 2200 years ago. Among the materials present there was also a bone from the leg of an elephant, the presence of which could represent the first archaeological evidence of the use of these animals in war, so far reported only by literary and iconographic sources.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science and still in its preliminary phase, was conducted by a group made up of researchers from the universities of Cordoba, the Autonomous University of Madrid, Leiden (the Netherlands) and the archaeologists of the company that conducted the preventive excavation. This took place in 2020 in the Colina de los Quemados locality, near the Andalusian city of Cordoba, the ancient Corduba. It was a multi-layered settlement, which saw various phases of occupation, from the end of the Bronze Age (10th century BC) to the medieval Islamic period.
During research on the levels of destruction of the settlement, dated to the late Iron Age (4th-3rd century BC), archaeologists found several objects attributable to a war episode under a collapsed wall. These are a dozen stone projectiles for throwing siege weapons, a tip for a scorpion dart (another ancient artillery weapon), fibulae and ceramics dating back to the end of the 3rd century. to. C., and a coin minted in Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena) between 237 and 206 BC. C. In association with these materials, a very particular bone was also found.
This bone, approximately cubic in shape, measures 10 cm in length, and in terms of type and size it has no comparison with the other faunal remains found during the excavation at Colina de los Quemados. Upon further analysis, this bone turned out to be the third right carpal of a large adult elephant, one of the bones that make up the leg. The discovery of elephant bones in European archaeological contexts is very rare, except for valuable objects made of ivory. The presence of this bone is therefore most likely related to the presence on the site of an animal species belonging to the elephant family. From the bone it was possible to extract a sample which was subjected to radiocarbon analysis, which returned a dating consistent with that of the materials found in association, i.e. the 4th-3rd century. to. C.
Literary and iconographic sources abound with depictions of the use of elephants in warfare by various ancient armies. These animals were faced by the Macedonians of Alexander the Great during his campaign in north-west India, and were subsequently used by the Seleucids, the Epirotes and the Carthaginians in the 3rd century. to. C. Considering the place of discovery and the chronological data put together by Spanish archaeologists, such as radiocarbon analysis, ceramics, and coins, the animal to which the bone found in Colina de los Quemados belonged died at the end of the 3rd century. to. C.
In that period the Carthaginian army was engaged in Spain first against the native Iberian populations (237-219 BC) and subsequently in the Second Punic War (218-202 BC) with the famous elephant march across the Alps led by Hannibal. In particular, the chronological data collected so far, compatible with the level of destruction of the Colina de los Quemados settlement, are comparable with the period between 208 and 206 BC. C., when the Roman army of Scipio Africanus faced the Carthaginian forces of Mago, Hannibal’s brother, in this area. At this point it would be the first archaeological attestation of the presence of elephant bones in an ancient European military context.
