The ancient elephant cemetery in the Erding district inspires scientists and stimulates the imagination of many people. Comment.
“Jurassic Park” is located in the Erding district. To put it slightly bluntly, this is the news that has electrified dinosaur fans all over the world. What Peter Kapustin from Taufkirchen and his colleagues unearthed in Weipersorf, Langenpreising municipality, is a sensation.
There were 120 bones in the ground that were at least ten million years old. The researchers were able to assign them to several animals: three prehistoric elephants, scientifically called deino- or dinotheria, as well as an ancient rhinoceros and a prehistoric cat. “Maybe it’s a saber-toothed tiger,” Kapustin speculated in Monday’s press conference. Further surprises are very likely.
The enthusiastic hobby paleontologist can no longer save himself from media inquiries. Even across the Great Pond, people have already noticed the ancient elephant cemetery. In this field, science is also exciting for laypeople; the Hollywood blockbuster “Jurassic Parc” may have boosted this. The mental cinema begins immediately with gigantic monsters.
The comparison with “Jurassic Parc” comes from a qualified source. Taxidermist Nils Knötschke drew it in the press conference. He reported that during the excavation he was strongly reminded of the opening scene of the film. The scenery in the Weipersdorf sand pit resembled the desert landscape filmed. According to Knötschke, this is highly unusual in Europe. Normally you are dealing with other geological formations.
And anyway: after 20 years of excavations in Europe, he no longer believed that he would be able to witness such a large find on the continent, says the experienced taxidermist. The word “sensation” is absolutely no exaggeration.
Science and the district owe this primarily to the commitment of one man. Peter Kapustin persistently pursues his passion for paleontology and is now highly qualified. He makes his knowledge available to the public in the Prehistoric Museum in Taufkirchen. 20,000 visitors a year, including many inquisitive students, find interesting things for their general education and imagination here.
This sensation sheds light on a scene of enthusiasts who are determined to hunt for treasure in all weathers. How many hours, days, weeks and months will Kapustin (and now his two sons) have been digging without unearthing anything unusual? Nothing works without stoic stubbornness.
This branch of science is already dependent on laypeople who do research on a voluntary basis. Fortunately, these positively crazy people exist - also in other fields such as sports, art or music. They provide food for the head and heart and are an inspiration that it is worth not only dreaming your own dreams, but also fighting for them.