Five ancient prehistoric Stepp mammoth skeletons have been unearthed in Britain. How did they get there, and how did they die? The deeply ancient Steppe mammoth site was discovered at a quarry near Swindon in England’s Cotswolds region after fossil hunters Sally and Neville Hollingworth identified a Neanderthal hand axe.

Now, archaeologists have unearthed five prehistoric Steppe mammoth skeletons dating back 215,000 years ago, including two adults, two juveniles, and an infant. Archaeologists from Devantures also discovered fossilized beetles, freshwater snail shells, and stone tools from the Neanderthal age.

All of these discoveries will be explored in a new BBC One documentary series hosted by Sir David Attenborough, “Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard,” to be aired on December 30, 2021.

The show will also feature evolutionary biologist, Professor Ben Garrod of the University of East Anglia, and archaeologists from the team at Devantures, who will help explain how the mammoths got there, and how their lives unfolded.

The oldest Neanderthal hunting site? In an article in The Guardian, Prof. Garrod describes the site as an archaeological gold dust. Furthermore, the discovery of the Neanderthal tool kit might mean the site was a massive buffet at a Neanderthal campsite. In the new documentary, scientists will delve into whether the Steppe mammoths had been chased into the mud and trapped, or whether the hunters found them already and got a free meal, says Garrod.

Lis Westcott Wilkins from Devantures stated in a press release that finding mammoth bone is always extraordinary. However, finding examples that are so old, and in this instance so well-preserved, and in such close proximity to Neanderthal stone tools, “is exceptional.”

Steppe mammoths lived approximately 1.8 million years ago to about 200,000 years ago. Consequently, if the cut-marks found on the bones are determined to have been made by hands, this site becomes the oldest scientifically excavated Neanderthal butchering site for mammoths in all of Britain.

The sheer quantity of mammoth bones is a stark lesson from history, warning of how unpredictable climate change can be. Five million years ago, mammoths roamed the Earth before suddenly disappearing for nearly 4,000 years. And until daylight breaks anew, nobody knows why this happened.

Prof. Willerslev adds that the findings have enormous value for understanding the human occupation of Britain. Moreover, what he describes as delicate environmental evidence is also expected to better illustrate the context of past climate change.

Plant changes followed the great beast in the End. Dr. Willerslev and a team of geneticists analyzed ancient environmental DNA and discovered why mammoths went extinct.