Oregon State University's Reser Stadium was under renovation as part of its expansion project when the construction crew accidently dug up bones of a 10,000-year-old mammoth and other ice age mammals. The remains were excavated in the north end zone of the stadium last Monday, but it's not a big surprise to find these kinds of extinct animals in the area as the Willamette Valley was once home to thousands of mammoths, per OSU's website.

"There are quite a few bones and dozens of pieces. Some of the bones are not in very good shape, but some are actually quite well preserved. Animals who were sick would often go to a body of water and die there, so it's not unusual to find a group of bones like this. We had all of these types of animals in the Willamette Valley back then," OSU's associate professor of anthropology Loren Davis said.

According to a spokesman for the university, archeologists believe that the site was some kind of pond or watering hole for mammoths, bison, camels and other mammals. The spokesman told Oregon Live that this body of water is a place where a lot of these animals came to die.

It is noted that no humans or artifacts were found and is not considered as a protected archeological site in Oregon. The pit is still under examination by a team led by Davis and his students while the construction crew works a different part of the stadium.

The construction of the stadium is part of the $42-million "Victory Through Valley" fundraising campaign of OSU that will add 37,870 square feet of land while renovating the existing 25,830 square feet of existing space, per Our Beaver Nation. The project started after the college football season ended last January 11.

In a report by ABC News, other animal bones were discovered about 20 miles away from OSU, but the first inside the university. The Willamette Valley is a known home of other large prehistoric animals like large bears, beavers, lions and tigers.

Bleacher Report mentioned in a report that many Oregon State supporters are hoping that this discovery can help the Beavers in their campaign next season. Their football team is coming off a bad 2-10 season with a 2-4 record at the Reser Stadium.

"It just goes to show there's a whole world of the past that exists underground. It's so neat we could find it here at Reser Stadium. As you're watching a football game, you can think, beneath your feet, lie the bodies of extinct animals that relate to the past," Davis added via Oregon Live.