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

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.

Artifacts, historical accounts and iconography

The Punic Wars—a series of three wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire—took place during the period from 264 to 146 BCE. Most of the existing evidence of elephants being used as war animals by Carthaginian armies during the Punic Wars comes from historical accounts, iconography and artifacts with depictions of elephants. Examples include a coin featuring a man riding an elephant and an elephant sculpture from the Roman necropolis of Carmona.

Hannibal, a Carthaginian general who commanded Carthaginian forces in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War, made a particularly lasting impression with his use of war elephants, the image of which persisted through centuries in historical texts and iconography.

The study authors write, "The use of elephants as 'war machines' on European soil during the Punic Wars left a profound mark on Western art, literature, and culture—a legacy passed down through classical accounts to later authors. For centuries, the image of Hannibal leading his elephants across the Alps became an icon, a recurring motif embraced by musicians, writers, and playwrights alike, and eventually also by the film industry."

Limited evidence in the form of chemical and organic markers has also been reportedly found at the Col de la Traversette in the southern Alps, which some historians have identified as the site of Hannibal's 218 BCE crossing of the Alps with an army of over 30,000 infantrymen, 7,000 cavalrymen, and 37 elephants.

A bone among rubble

In 2020, the Colina de los Quemados site in Córdoba was excavated before the construction and enlargement of a part of the Córdoba Provincial Hospital. The site is thought to have supported a continuous occupation since the mid-3rd millennium BCE. Archaeologists believe the site was abandoned around the time of the establishment of a Roman military camp that later became the center of the modern city.

Among a layer of apparent destruction, the team found the bone, which was identified as an elephant's carpal bone after much deliberation. The bone was found beneath a collapsed adobe wall sealing a single level of occupation. Although it was in poor shape, the 10-cm, cube-shaped bone was identified through anatomical comparison with modern elephant and mammoth specimens.

Poor preservation prevented DNA or protein analysis on the bone, limiting identification between either Asian or African elephant species. Despite its poor preservation, the researchers were able to conduct radiocarbon dating on the bone's mineral fraction. Results placed the bone between the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE, consistent with the period of the Second Punic War.

The precise historical event linked to the bone remains unclear. However, the site also contained several artillery projectiles, coins and ceramics that were analyzed and confirmed to be used in a military context.

"Archaeologically, the destruction level documented at Colina de los Quemados fits well within an emerging pattern of events associated with the Second Punic War, some of which are attested in literary sources and others which are not, encompassing both siege warfare and open battlefield contexts.

"One of the principal archaeological indicators of military activity in this period is the presence of artillery projectiles, including stone shot fired from lithoboloi or petroboloi and bolt projectiles discharged from torsion engines such as the oxybeles or scorpio," the study authors explain.

The authors also note the possibility that the bone was brought to the site as a kind of trade good or souvenir. However, they also say that the bone would not have been particularly useful or attractive, and that this interpretation seems unlikely. Given the context, the bone does seem to be a relic of Hannibal's army, instead.

"The carpal of the elephant from Colina de los Quemados in Cordoba (Spain) may constitute one of the scarce instances of direct evidence on the use of these animals during Classical Antiquity, not only in the Iberian Peninsula but also in Western Europe," the study authors write.

Written for you by our author Krystal Kasal, edited by Gaby Clark, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

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