Beneath the slopes of Kościuszko Mound lies one of Europe’s most remarkable Ice Age archaeological discoveries — a place where prehistoric hunters once tracked and processed mammoths. Long before Kraków became a medieval city, this landscape was part of a harsh prehistoric environment where humans and the giants of the Ice Age shared the same territory.

Archaeologists uncovered an extraordinary concentration of woolly mammoth bones here, including tusks, ribs, vertebrae and skull fragments. Hidden beneath the soil for tens of thousands of years, these remains reveal a dramatic story of cooperation, hunting strategy and survival.

Discovery and Ice Age hunting ground

The first unusual bones were discovered in 1967 during construction work near Kościuszko Mound. Soon afterwards archaeologists began systematic excavations, which continued between 1968 and 2023, gradually revealing the scale of the discovery.

Researchers identified the remains of more than 113 mammoths, making the site one of the largest concentrations of mammoth bones discovered in Europe. Flint tools and fragments of spear points found among the bones confirmed that prehistoric communities actively hunted these animals.

Key discoveries at the site include:

• remains of more than 113 woolly mammoths
• flint spear points and stone tools used for hunting
• bones of young mammoths, including rare milk teeth
• evidence that the site functioned as a specialized hunting and processing area

Archaeology and prehistoric life

The discoveries helped researchers better understand how Paleolithic communities lived and hunted in Central Europe. Evidence suggests that hunters used the natural slope of the terrain to drive mammoths uphill, exhausting the animals before delivering the final strike with stone-tipped weapons.

Unlike many other prehistoric sites, this location appears to have served mainly as a hunting and butchering ground rather than a permanent settlement. Groups of hunters likely returned here repeatedly, taking advantage of the terrain and the migration patterns of large Ice Age animals.

Useful information for visitors

Key information for exploring the site and its history:

• Location: near Kościuszko Mound in western Kraków
• Access: reachable via walking paths around the mound and nearby fortifications
• Exhibitions: selected bones and artifacts can be seen at the Museum of Natural History of the Polish Academy of Sciences
• Context: the excavation area itself is not a developed tourist attraction

Why is this discovery important?

The mammoth hunting site near Kościuszko Mound provides rare evidence of prehistoric life in the Kraków region. It shows that Ice Age communities possessed advanced hunting strategies and strong cooperation skills.

Today the area appears calm and residential, but beneath the ground lies evidence of a much older world — one that connects Kraków with the distant landscapes of the Ice Age.