The lost world of the extinct mastodons is about to come to life again. And no, this will not be yet another Hollywood production filled with terrifying prehistoric monsters and grim, breathless action. Lovers of adventure can experience a unique journey by teleporting themselves 5 million years ago in the era of the late Pliocene. The attraction will be available in the vicinity of the Rhodopean village of Dorkovo where a uniqye museum for this part of Europe will be built – a Pliocene park.
The crane of an australopithecine found in the vicinity
Unlike the science-fiction blockbuster of the 1990s Jurassic Park which is set in the Jurassic period, or 200 million years ago, the world that will be brought back to life in the future park near Dorkovo is "younger" - only 5 million years old. The findings in the prehistoric cemetery near the village date back to this period in the planet’s history. In the 1980s, the first expedition of Bulgarian and French scholars arrived to the site, led by world-renowned paleontologist Hervé Thoma – deputy director of College de France. At a depth of less than 60 cm below ground, scientists have come across striking findings. Before their astonished eyes have emerged remnants of long-forgotten extinct animals, whose enormous tusks, molars and parts of skeletons lay undisturbed by the vicissitudes of millennia right below the farmers’ fields. By the way, it is small wonder that this site is called "The bones"! Residents of neighboring villages are used to digging out strange animal bones while tilling their land. For three years, the Bulgarian-French expedition has explored the area thoroughly and concluded that it is the richest palaeontological field from the late Pliocene period in Europe. Some of the findings have been sent to France for restoration and conservation, and were later returned to Bulgaria. "Bones from over 30 species of prehistoric animals", explains Svilen Topchiev, project manager for the construction of the palaeontological museum near Dorkovo.
The remains of mastodons, ancient species of monkeys, lions, saber-tooth tigers, bears, the three-toed horses known as hipparions, and other contemporaries of the Pliocene, complement our idea of this epoch, when the first hominids appeared on Earth – the Australopithecus. At that time, the climate in this part of the continent was not temperate continental, as it is now, but subtropical. "This explains why the found fossils belong to heat-loving animals," says Svilen Topchiev.
The saber-toothed tiger was one of the animals that existed in these lands
"This place was frequently flooded by the river Matnitsa which ran dry during dry seasons and overspilled often during the rainy season. In one of these dry periods, most of the animals died, and when the river flowed again, the strong current carried them away in one of the branches of the river near the village of Dorkovo and there they remained sealed between 3 layers of clay, forming a prehistoric cemetery”, Svilen Topchiev told Radio Bulgaria.
A saber-toothed tiger skeleton
The Pliocene park will open doors near Dorkovo at the end of this year. All visitors will be able to look into this almost unimaginably remote past, when these lands were roamed by our ancestors – the Australopithecus. The prehistoric park will showcase the remnants of ancient animals restored in France, popular science documentaries will be shown, a special audio equipment will reproduce the sounds of the wild beasts that inhabited this part of the world millions of years ago. Visitors will walk among exotic flora and will marvel at the wonderful natural scenery.
"The aim of scholars is to create a reconstruction of this historical era and, drawing on the idea of the so-called Jurassic Park, create the Dorkovo Pliocene Park. We will be able to see how these species, some of which are now extinct, fitted into the prehistoric environment. We will show a reconstruction of subtropical vegetation with a river spill and extinct species as well as aspectacular mastodon of the anancus arvernenzis species in life size. This will not be an ordinary museum, but a museum diorama, which means a reconstruction of a place and a natural history epoch simultaneously," says Svilen Topchiev, project manager of the construction of the unique palaeontological museum near the village of Dorkovo in the Rhodopes.
Translated by Rossitsa Petcova
Photos: wikipedia.org
