Mammoth After Mammoth

This year marks 87 years since the discovery of the famous mammoth skeleton, found during the regulation of the Nevljica River channel in Nevlje near Kamnik. The exhibition Mammoth After Mammoth revives the memory of this significant and momentous event for Kamnik and the broader Slovenian territory.

The discovery generated great interest, as well as controversy, among both the general public and experts. Entire newspaper pages were dedicated to announcements and reports on the excavation process. The exhibition and its accompanying catalog highlight the atmosphere that prevailed during the excavations, the prominent figures from Kamnik and other visitors who followed the research, and how the 574 cm long and 361 cm high, almost completely preserved skeleton was protected in the field and later swiftly exhibited at the Natural History Department of the National Museum. Within three years, in 1941, the entire skeleton was put on public display.

The exhibition and catalog present the ancestors of mammoths, the Ice Age with its characteristic flora and fauna, and the extent of glaciation in Europe. It also explores where mammoth bones, teeth, and tusks have been found in Slovenia and how they were used, for example, in the region of present-day Ukraine. Additionally, it examines where and how Paleolithic hunters lived, what they hunted and ate, how they dressed, and what tools they used for hunting and daily life. The second part of the exhibition explores how the mammoth, as a striking animal, influenced these early humans, their mythological perceptions, and what they crafted from mammoth ivory.

The Celje Regional Museum complements the exhibition with mammoth bones and rarely seen fossil remains of other Ice Age animals from its collections.

Exhibition and text author: Janja Železnikar, Intermunicipal Museum Kamnik; Coordinator at PM Celje: Dr. Jure Krajšek; Expert contributors: Katarina Krivic, Natural History Museum of Slovenia; Vida Pohar, Department of Geology and Paleontology, University of Ljubljana; Simona Petru, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana; Proofreading: Vladimir Motnikar; Design: Polona Matek; 
Map and timeline illustrations: Jasmina Puškar; Photography: Tomaž Lauko, Sašo Kovačič, Archives of the Natural History Museum of Slovenia, Slovene Fund, Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia
Illustrated reconstruction: Marjan Gabrilo

The exhibition was made possible by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Celje.