The accidental discovery was
made by archaeologists exploring an ancient Roman site 30 miles east of the
French capital in Changis-Sur-Marne.
Researchers say it is the only
the third long-haired mammoth to be discovered in France in the last 150 years,
with such finds more common in northern Siberia.
Head of the excavation, Greg
Bayle, said it was extremely rare to find such a well-preserved carcass of the
long-extinct animal.
Archeologists work at the site
along the Changis-sur-Marne riverbank (AP)
'Some archaeologists have
spent have spent their lives dreaming of such a discovery with no luck,' he
said.
He added that the mammoth,
believed to have died as a relatively young adult, would have existed when the
surrounding land was a vast grassy plain, with ice blocks flowing across the
nearby River Marne.
The dig team also found two
flint blades next to the giant 9ft creature, suggesting it may have been hunted
and killed for food by Neanderthals.
'The greatest prize are the
flints nearby,' said Stephane Pean, another scientist involved.
'They show the presence of man
on the side, and will help us built up a better understanding of the
Neanderthals, who were contemporaries of the mammoth.'
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