Skeleton of war camel from 17th century found in Austria

VIENNA, April 2 (UPI) -- Archaeologists in Austria recently unearthed a full camel skeleton while excavating an ancient cellar turned refuse pit in the center of a small town called Tulln. They thought they were simply making way for a shopping center, but their work turned up a remarkable discovery.

Beneath pots, pans and all sorts of rubbish, researchers found what is believed to be Europe's first complete camel skeleton -- and a link to the region's Ottoman past.

"First I saw the mandible, which looked a bit like a strange-shaped cattle; then I saw the cervical vertebrae, which looked like horse," dig leader Alfred Galik told the BBC. "Finally, the long bones and metapodials [foot bones] identified the skeleton as a camel."

The animal has been identified as Bactrian-dromedary hybrid, a popular breed in the Ottoman army. The specimen likely arrived in the region around 1683, as the Ottoman Turks stretched their empire farther into Central Europe, laying siege to Vienna. In the aftermath of the conflict, the camel was either traded or left behind, ending up in the nearby town of Tulln.

DNA testing proved the specimen was the product of a Bactrian father and dromedary mother.

"The two species are able to interbreed, which results in larger, more powerful and efficient hybrid offspring," the scientists wrote in a paper on the find, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

Parts of other camels, dating to the Roman Empire, have been found in Europe. And a nearly complete Ottoman camel skeleton was found several years ago in Turkey -- not far from its original home in the Middle East. But this first complete specimen in Central Europe.