Mohovo – the Valley of Mammoths

In search of mammoths we set off for the far east of Slavonia. Travelling from Vukovar towards Ilok on a chilly winter morning, even without any help from the imagination, every distant treetop poking out of the mist looked to us like a mammoth. Some 30,000 years ago, when mammoths roamed these parts, scenes like that must have been spectacular!

The first finds at Mohovo came to light in 2012, entirely by chance during the digging of a sewer. Several bones of the woolly mammoth were found then – the most impressive animal of the ice age, which could grow to 3.5 m in height and weigh up to 6 tonnes.

In 2017 Goran Popović chanced upon some well-preserved mammoth molars. Popović is in any case very active in promoting the subject, and this led to an archaeological investigation of very limited scope, over an area of just 4.5 m2. The test trenches turned up remains of the bones and tusks of the woolly mammoth, but also bones of the woolly rhinoceros and the cave hyena.

It is astonishing how little ear our country has for stopping young people from leaving. Most communities do not need big things. Some need a nursery, some need a flood embankment, and some perhaps just one more bus service. What Mohovo urgently needs is a serious archaeological investigation, because where there is smoke there is fire!

Twenty to thirty thousand years ago the climate in Europe was very cold. Summer temperatures did not rise above 10 – 15 °C, glaciers came down off the mountains and snow surrounded the whole Pannonian Plain. The animals of that age found refuge in the valleys around the great rivers such as the Danube. There is no way the ground here is not hiding countless skeletons of woolly mammoths, rhinoceroses and other fascinating animals of the period. All Mohovo needs is one skeleton that could serve as the headline exhibit for some kind of modern interactive museum. That museum would not have to be anywhere near as big as the one at Vučedol or Krapina, but for this area it would make the difference between prosperity and stagnation!

Until that happens, the mammoth story will stay alive solely thanks to the enthusiasm of local people, who have gathered around an association and keep tirelessly knocking on the doors of local and national institutions.

Every year in October the “Mammoth fest” event is held. An educational theme park has been announced, and the permanent display of exhibits can be viewed at the association’s premises by prior arrangement.

More information at:
https://www.dolinamamuta.hr
https://www.facebook.com/dolinamamuta.mohovo

Unprepared tourists who see the sign at the entrance to Mohovo will probably come away disappointed, because realistically there is not a great deal to see in the village, especially if you do not know where and how to find the permanent display of the finds.

In the centre there is a rather naive and unconvincing life-size statue of a mammoth. It replaced the straw statues, which struck us as considerably more convincing but which unfortunately burned down a few years ago.

We know we have had a positive effect on a few situations so far, and this article is written in the same affirmative spirit, in the hope that it will do at least a little to raise awareness among those who can help small communities develop.