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It’s been a while since there has been a post about Hannibal’s elephants, which he brought over the Alps to terrorize Roman troops in 218 BCE. (See post below) Researchers have found ancient bones in Córdoba, Spain, that belonged to an African elephant, the type of elephant used by Hannibal and the Carthaginians (pictured below). The African elephant was not native to Spain. Hannibal used African elephants, in contrast to the larger Asian elephant used by Pyrrhus and later by the Seleucids, against Rome. These findings suggest that the elephant may have been: A Carthaginian war elephant stationed in Iberia before Hannibal’s march. A gift or trade animal from North Africa. A local elephant (unlikely, since native elephants were extinct by then). A symbolic or ritual animal used in elite ceremonies. The researchers also found spherical stones thought to be used for Carthaginian catapults (picture below) https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/landmark-elephant-bone-finding-in-spain-may-be-from-time-of-hannibals-war-against-rome https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352409X2600012X?via%3Dihub A good video about Hannibal’s drunk elephants: