This remote area of the European Arctic is now granting paleobiologists a glimpse of the ancient animal communities that called this region home. The ancient remains of at least 46 animal species are helping researchers re-examine the last ice age’s precarious ecological past–while serving as a warning for the future. In 1991, a local company’s drilling efforts unexpectedly uncovered a 42.6 foot deep sediment deposit inside the Arne Ovamgrotta cave. The team removed the animal remains from inside 42 feet of sediment. After months of digging, Boessenkool and collaborators eventually cataloged the area’s oldest known animal remains.