Drought Exposes Ancient Bones Along the Danube

Volunteers in northern Bulgaria are scouring the parched banks of the Danube for fossils, after the river's historic drought revealed mammoth bones last month. The finds are a stark reminder of nature's power, and of the fragility of our modern world.

Aleksandar Denkov, a 30-year-old amateur photographer, was among some 20 volunteers who joined a guided search organised by the regional history museum in Ruse, about 250 km northeast of Sofia. “I've found a tooth!” he exclaimed, holding up a yellowish fragment protruding from the sand.

While the group's hopes of finding more mammoth remains were not fulfilled, they did uncover the bones of a large mammal, “probably an aurochs or a European bison,” according to the museum. They also found a horse jawbone and a cluster of fossilised oysters dating back some 60 to 65 million years.

Europe's drought, which experts say is exacerbated by human-induced climate change, has reduced major rivers to a trickle. This has caused serious problems for cargo shippers and for nuclear plants that rely on river water for cooling. But the low waters have also revealed historical treasures not seen for decades, or even millennia.

Recent finds along the Danube, Europe's second-longest river, include World War II shipwrecks in Austria and Serbia, and the remains of two German soldiers and a motorbike in the middle of Budapest.

“Close to History”

Krasimir Kirov, curator at the Ruse Regional History Museum, said the museum decided to organise the field day “to teach people how to recognise different finds, show them what they might uncover, and give them safety tips.”

“After the mammoth was discovered, I started getting dozens of calls from people telling me about what they'd found,” he told AFP.

Last month, a resident of the village of Ryahovo, some 30 km from Ruse, spotted by chance what specialists later identified as a mammoth jaw bone, fragments of tusks, part of a shoulder blade and a femur.

The initiative, announced on social media, quickly sparked keen interest, with requests already pouring in for the next outing, according to Kirov.

The search began with strict instructions: volunteers must advance in a line, and if someone spots something, they must raise a hand so the whole group stops. Above all, they must not touch any metal objects, which could be ammunition or explosives.

But the walk had barely begun when the line broke apart. Enthusiasm won out over discipline.

“It's a very rare opportunity to feel this close to history,” Ekaterina Yordanova, a 34-year-old psychologist, told AFP. “Seeing the Danube in this state is worrying, but it also gives us the chance to discover new things.”

Vladimir Tsvyatkov, a 44-year-old business owner, said he, his wife and their two children mainly came “for the adventure.” Having grown up on the banks of the river, he said he had “never seen the Danube so dried up.”

WWII Remnants Emerge

Further upstream in Bulgaria, the low Danube levels have allowed archaeologists to document the foundations of a bridge, more than two km long, inaugurated under Emperor Constantine I in 328 AD.

Elsewhere along the Danube, World War II weaponry and other remnants have been found. In central Austria, two wrecks of German warships are now protruding from the water. Damaged in fighting with American tanks in 1945, they were later sunk by their own crews, according to local media.

In Serbia, near Prahovo, the receding river has exposed wrecks of German warships, among dozens sunk by their own side in 1944 in an attempt to slow the Soviet Red Army's advance. And in Budapest, a motorbike and the remains of two German soldiers were found, according to the German War Graves Commission.

The findings come as vast tracts of many of Europe's largest rivers have fallen to levels never recorded before in the month of July, according to data from the European climate observatory Copernicus.

What is the significance of the Danube drought finds?

The discoveries offer a rare, tangible connection to the past, from prehistoric creatures to the ravages of World War II. They serve as a sobering reminder of how climate shifts can reshape our landscape and our history.

Are these finds common during droughts?

While droughts often reveal artefacts and remains, the sheer number of significant discoveries along the Danube this summer is unusual. The combination of extreme low water levels and the river's rich history has made it a particularly fruitful season for archaeologists and amateur enthusiasts alike.