Overview
- Archaeologists recovered a small carpal bone identified as elephantine at the Colina de los Quemados site in Córdoba during a 2019–2020 excavation.
- The team says the fragment likely came from the right forefoot of an elephant, but degraded preservation prevents determining whether it was African or Asian.
- Radiocarbon dating places the animal in the late fourth to early third centuries BCE, a timeframe that overlaps with Hannibal’s campaign in Iberia.
- Associated finds include 12 stone projectiles interpreted as lithoboloi ammunition, a scorpio bolt tip, a Carthaginian bronze coin, and a destruction layer consistent with violent conflict.
- Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the study presents the bone as a plausible first osteological trace of Hannibal-era elephants in Iberia or Europe, while noting DNA and protein tests were inconclusive.