An Austrian winemaker made an unexpected discovery while renovating his wine cellar — and it wasn’t an old bottle of Blaufränkisch. According to a Wednesday press release from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), bones accidentally uncovered by Andreas Pernerstorfer have been confirmed as belonging to at least three different Stone Age mammoths.
Pernerstorfer was deep in his wine cellar, located in the village of Gobelsburg, when he discovered the treasure trove of fossils. The winemaker first thought the bones were old pieces of wood, but then recalled a story he’d heard from his grandfather, who had found mammoth molars when he extended the wine cellar in the ‘60s, a researcher told CNN. Pernerstorfer reported the findings to the Federal Monuments Office which referred him to the OeAW, who later arrived to inspect the scene.
