When Giants Roamed Europe

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN ITALY

IN 1932 a road-construction crew was digging near the Colosseum in Rome when one of the men struck a hard object. It turned out to be the tusk and cranium of an elephant. This discovery is not an isolated case. Over the years, about 140 fossilized remains of elephants have been found in and around Rome, the first confirmed case being in the 17th century.

Many elephant fossils found in Italy are not those of the elephants we know today. Rather, they belong to an extinct species called Elephas antiquus, or ancient elephant. (See page 15.) This creature had almost straight tusks and grew to about 15 feet [5 m] at the shoulders, making it about six feet [2 m] taller than its modern-day counterparts.

How common were those giants? The fossil record indicates that they once roamed throughout Europe and England, as did their close relatives the mammoths.