 The sensational news that a five-million-year-old mammoth skeleton had been discovered near the Viminacium archaeological park spread across the world in early June. All the major newswires carried the report that the fossil remains of a very rare mammoth species had been discovered at a depth of 27 metres during construction work at a Drmno open-pit coal mine near the city of Kostolac. The excavator accidentally caught the skeleton, damaging the cranium and part of the tusks, but the rest of the skeleton was preserved in its entirety – an exclusive find indeed. The remains belong to the so-called southern mammoth (Mammuthus meridionalis), a descendant of tropical ancestors that migrated from northern Africa two million years ago and took up dwelling in the forested areas of southern Europe. Judging from the shape of the pelvis, it was concluded that the skeleton belonged to a female mammoth that was four-metres-tall and six-metres-long and weighed some ten tonnes.
The discovery of this unique specimen immediately rallied a team of distinguished experts who undertook work under highly adverse weather conditions to excavate and conserve the specimen. Apart from archaeologists of the Archaeological Institute led by Dr. Miomir Korać, who is at the same time the director of the Viminacium archaeological park, those participating in the operation also included people from the Natural History Museum, paleozoologist Dr. Zoran Marković and senior preparator Miloš Milivojević, as well as a team from the Institute for Nature Protection Institute headed by Srdjan Marinčić.
"In Serbia, this is the first time that a complete and fully preserved skeleton has been discovered, which makes this find very significant for European as well as for world science", says Dr Zoran Marković, head of the Belgrade Natural History Museum Geological Department.
 Owing to the great size of the bones and the delicate nature of the procedures, conservation work is still ongoing. Experts agree it will be at least another three months before the remains are ready to be viewed by the public at large.
"We have obtained the substances needed for the conservation of the skeleton, primarily so-called B72, as recommended by UNESCO in cases of very important finds. This is a very expensive substance and we were able to obtain it based on our high credibility. We are doing our utmost to protect the mammoth’s remains in keeping with international standards because an epochal discovery such as this fully merits it", explained Dr. Korać.
A special facility for the Kostolac mammoth that will ensure its protection from atmospheric and other negative influences is being planned, one that will also fit into the surreal backdrop of the Drmno open-pit mine. For the time being, a cover has been provided to protect the skeleton from rain and the surrounding terrain has been consolidated, as it is prone to drying up and crumbling and therefore posed a great problem.
Experts hope to determine in what type of environment the female mammoth lived, what she ate and what caused her death. It is noteworthy that the excellent state in which the skeleton was found was to a great extent due to the fact that in this part of Serbia, otherwise described as inclined to seismic activity, there had not been any major earthquakes.
 The southern mammoth is the fourth "elephant" species that lived in the remote past in what is present-day Serbia. So far, remains of the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) that lived in large herds on the grasscovered steppes, the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), the symbol of the Ice Age, and fossils of a relative of the present-day Asian elephant (Paleoloxodon antiquus) that inhabited the warm wooded regions along major European rivers.
A second "Serbian" mammoth was discovered 13 years ago at a depth of 21 metres in a clay mining site that belongs to the Toza Marković plant in Kikinda. It was assessed as being half a million years old and that makes it "a grandson" of the Viminacium female mammoth. In the meantime, at a place called Rogljevske Pivnice near the city of Negotin, as reported, bones of a mammoth found by the Danube were discovered in a stone house that also served as a wine cellar.
"The three skeletons discovered in Serbia open up possibilities for putting in place a very attractive tourist route – the so-called mammoth trail – that would start in Kikinda, then visit Djerdap via Viminacium", Dr. Korać comments on his vision.
According to an ancient belief, elephants bring good luck as well as wealth and all manner of prosperity. The female mammoth dubbed "Vika" has brought international fame to the Viminacium archeological park in just one day, and there is a high chance it will soon attract hosts of domestic and foreign guests. Everyone engaged in the Viminacium project hopes to see the number of visitors rise from their current levels of 60,000 to 300,000 annually. Vika, as the mammoth is known at this time, emerged at the right moment so as to "assist" that this plan be realised as soon as possible.
| The ancient Roman city and military fort – Viminacium – near the city of Kostolac is today one of Serbia’s biggest tourist attractions. Construction work of a modern scientific, research, commercial, tourist and educational centre is nearing completion and when complete, it will cover some 4,000 square metres built in the style of a typical Roman palace that will be called DOMUS SCIENTIARUM VIMINACIUM. One-third of this edifice is intended for research purposes, while two-thirds are for accommodating people who will be able to take part in archaeological excavations. Under the plan, the Domus will also have a museum exhibition of a rich collection of objects mostly found during the excavation of some 14,000 Roman tombs. | | 
