When The Beasts Roamed The Earth Mystery Cache

Welcome! You are invited to an unusual meeting with the creatures who lived millions of years ago ...

The Palaeontological Museum in Asenovgrad is one of the most interesting and unique museums in Bulgaria. The following lines will convince you of the correctness of these words because you will discover a place filled with artifacts, information and evidence of things that will not only enrich you intellectually and emotionallly, but will make every Bulgarian to feel pride for he was born in this very beautiful and rich country.

The museum was founded only in 1990 when it became an affiliate of the National Museum of Natural History, BAS. The collection of fossils and most materials displayed in the museum are the result of tireless work and an incredible person awake for Science - Dimitar Kovachev.

The building from the outside looks like a typical socialist construction. This should not discourage you to visit the museum because, despite the lack of shine on the outside, there are hidden surprises and amazing treasures of science inside. The museum exposition starts from the second floor of the building. This may seem strange, but it is no accident and you'll understand why at the end of your tour.

The first section, or introduction, is dedicated to simple invertebrate organisms and remains, found by them. The collection presents fossils of unicellular organisms (corals and colonial corals), snails, etc.
Immediately after this quick introduction to the magic of paleontology visitors are directed to the real part of the museum and exposure to different kinds of vertebrates. At the beginning of this journey in time before the 8 million years will see a picture showing the species prevalent in our country in this period.

In the first room of the Palaeontological Museum you will understand why it is such an unique place. Among the thousands of pieces of fragments and bones from different animals and beautiful restorations and paintings of long-extinct species will have a unique opportunity to see some of the few of the World's "pearls" of the museum exhibition.

Here are shown the only preserved complete skeleton of the hyena in Bulgaria. As well the only fully preserved head of a saber-tooth tiger. Saber-tooth tigers were the predominant and most formidable predators in this period. They are called this way, because of their large upper front teeth that are incredibly sharp and flat like a sword to tear the skin of elephants and mastodons.

One of the most important museum expositions in the world is the world's only fully preserved skeleton of a tiger Metailurus. This is a unique global discovery that no other museum in the world does not hold. Given the importance of exhibits in the museum is shown a copy of the skeleton and the original is kept in repositories NMNH Sofia.

Another pride of the museum is Mesopitikus delsoni - one of the best preserved specimens of this species in the world. In 2003, the very inventor of this species the American Professor Delson, who named this monkey, has visited the museum and acknowledged that he has never seen a better preserved specimen.

The museum remains of dozens of animals - hyenas, saber-toothed tigers, mastodons, dinoteriums, gazelles, antelopes, giraffes, horses three-fingered hipparions (dominant species prior to 8 million years ago), rhinos and more.

The collection of remains of proboscideans of Bulgaria is on the first (ground) floor of the museum. It contains the remains of mastodons, dinoterium and others. Precisely here lies the most interesting exhibit for the visitors, which is the size of a volleyball court - the mighty dinoterium. The Dinoterium (Deinotherium giganteum) is a huge proboscid animal that inhabited the marshy areas 8 million years ago. It weighed more than 12 tonnes. This is the only animal with a curved bottom jaw, and huge tusks that link also downwards. The find was made by Dimitar Kovachev and his colleagues, is globally unique because it is one of 5 copies and one of the most complete and preserved. The entire skeleton of the animal was excavated in Bulgaria in the village Ezerovo.

Although the world has several such skeletons removed, the Bulgarian copy is unique worldwide, because it contains the greatest number of bones from one animal. Missing only part of the ribs, several vertebrae and tail left leg, which are reimbursed based on mirror bones of the body. Because of their uniqueness, and this exhibit is a copy. The real bones are kept in NMNH Sofia and are subject to constant research by scientists and students.

One can hardly describe the emotion with which one leaves the museum. It is best everyone to visit this amazing place for himself and feel what excites visitors. From mild apathy to enter and clash with shabby socialist reality in the excitement of the incredible paintings and reproductions, the confusion that this all happened before EIGHT MILLION YEARS! To the shock that one feels at the sight of giant Dinoterium. Finally, of course, chauvinistic lightest tickle in the heart, however, we all, even after 8 million years ago, we were born in one place - in Bulgaria.

    Source: link.

    The given coordinates will take you to the Asenovgrad Paleontological Museum. It is placed in an easy and accessible place. Regardless of which part of the town of Asenovgrad you came in, you should look for signs of Kardzhali. As soon as you pass the roundabout junction from where the road starts to Kardjali, will begin a slight climb. Exit to the museum is the second direct left, immediately before the school. The road is steep and winds around a hill on top of which is the museum. By building a small parking lot and parking areas.

Opening hours of the Museum: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 to 17:00 pm
Admission: Adults: 1.50 leva (0,75 EUR), children, students, disabled, pensioners: 1.00 leva (0,5 EUR). You can also rent and a guide to show you around the museum and tell you interesting things about the exposures and I sincerely recommend you to do so.
Address: Paleontological Museum, square Badelema Street, 212, 4230 Assenovgrad

    To find the cache will have to answer few questions related to some of the exhibits in the museum.

    The coordinates of the cache are: N 42 00.ABC E024 52.DEF

    Questions:

    1. What is the Bulgarian name of the animal in the picture?

   
    - Dinoterium (dinoteryi) - A = 3
    - Three-fingered horse (Triprast kon) - A = 4
    - Saber-toothed tiger (Sablezab tigar) - A = 5
    - African antelope (Afrikanska antilopa) - A = 6
    - Mastodon (Mastodont) - A = 7
    - Gazelle (Gazela) - A = 8

    2. What is the locality, where they found the only preserved complete skeleton of the hyena in Bulgaria, and the only fully preserved head of a saber-toothed tiger?
    - Ezerovo Village - B = 3
    - Asenovgrad Town - B = 4
    - Hadjidimovo Village - B = 5
    - Dolni Voden Village - B = 6
    - Atanasovsko Village - B = 7
    - Gorni Voden Village - B = 8

    3. What is the translation the name of Deinotherium giganteum, which is set out in the hall on the ground floor?
    - The Majestic Dinoterium - C = 4
    - The Giant Dinoterium - C = 5
    - The Magnificent Beast - C = 6
    - The Giant Elephant - C = 7
    - The Huge Mastodon - C = 8
    - The Giant Terrifying Beast - C = 9

    4. What the dinoterium (Deinotherium giganteum) had fed with?
    - Birds - D = 4
    - Mammals - D = 5
    - Reptiles - D = 6
    - Fish - D = 7
    - Plants - D = 8
    - Seeds - D = 9

    5. In what year the skeleton of Deinotherium giganteum was first discovered?
    - 1945 - E = 8
    - 1955 - E = 9
    - 1965 - E = 0
    - 1975 - E = 1
    - 1985 - E = 2
    - 1995 - E = 3

    6. How tall is the skeleton of Deinotherium giganteum?
    - 3,0 m - F = 6
    - 3,5 m - F = 7
    - 4,0 m - F = 8
    - 4,5 m - F = 9
    - 5,0 m - F = 0
    - 5,5 m - F = 1

    I hope you enjoyed the walk in the past. Happy caching ...
   

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