The Tuscan vineyard famous for its production of world-famous Brunello di Montalcino wine has added another repute to its credit – an alcove for a 5 million-year-old fossil.
According to a wine promotion agency Winenews’ spokeswoman, the fossil was that of a whale.
The first piece of the whale skeleton was found in January as Daniella Vidotto said,
A group of palaeontologists were digging in January in the Castello Banfi vineyards and found a whale’s vertebra. They continued their search and found the animal’s entire skeleton, about 10 metres long.
The region where this fossilized skeleton was found was under water 5 million years ago.
This is concluded with the finding of a dolphin skeleton a few years ago here, in Pienza, along with lots of sea shells. Thus, the region has always been a magnet for palaeontologists, according to Vidotto.
Photo: BBC