Archaeologists Unearth Roman Horse Cemetery With 100 Skeletons

“The past of mankind is carried connected the backmost of a horse” is simply a saying that holds existent for the Roman Empire, which expanded done the spot of its army, including its cavalry. An archaeological find successful Germany offers uncommon penetration into the animals that helped transportation an past civilization.

In July 2024, a operation task successful Stuttgart’s Bad Cannstatt borough unearthed astir 100 equine skeletons. The consequent excavation, supervised by the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments, revealed that the animals dated to the 2nd period CE and apt belonged to a Roman cavalry unit. One horse’s cautious burial highlights the adjacent narration betwixt immoderate riders and their horses, suggesting that adjacent 1,800 years ago, radical mourned the nonaccomplishment of their animals arsenic overmuch arsenic we bash today.

Bad Cannstatt was an important Roman subject tract during the archetypal fractional of the 2nd period AD. The section cavalry apt maintained implicit 700 animals—animals that needed food, shelter, and, erstwhile the clip came, burials. Archaeologists archetypal suggested the beingness of a Roman equine cemetery successful the 1920s, erstwhile a section lodging task revealed equine skeletons successful the region. The caller excavation, elaborate successful a statement from the determination authorities of Baden-Württemberg connected Wednesday, confirms this interpretation.

“Based connected the archaeological and humanities cognition of Roman Bad Cannstatt, the horses tin beryllium attributed to the cavalry unit—a alleged ‘Ala’—that was stationed astatine Hallschlag from astir 100 to 150 AD,” Sarah Roth, an archaeologist from the State Office for Monument Preservation, said successful the statement. Hallschlag is simply a vicinity successful Bad Cannstatt. “The unit of astir 500 riders is apt to person had a full of astatine slightest 700 horses, with losses having to beryllium replaced connected a regular basis.”

The dormant horses were buried individually successful shallow pits distant from some the past cavalry fort and civilian settlement. Each determination indispensable person been visually marked, since the pits seldom overlap, Roth explained.

“The horses bash not look to person each died astatine the aforesaid clip during a large lawsuit specified arsenic a conflict oregon epidemic,” she continued. “Rather, the animals buried present are those that died during the Ala’s beingness successful Bad Cannstatt owed to illness, injury, oregon different reasons, oregon were nary longer acceptable for work arsenic subject horses. If the equine was inactive capable to walk, it would person been taken to the equine cemetery and killed connected tract truthful that the dense carcass did not person to beryllium transported.”

The process was successful information much of a “disposal” than a due burial. In 1 notable exception, however, archaeologists unearthed a equine buried with 2 jugs and a tiny lipid lamp, sedate goods typically recovered successful quality graves. The inclusion of these objects indicates a adjacent enslaved betwixt the equine and its owner.

One of the horses was buried with sedate goods. © State Office for Monument Preservation successful the Stuttgart Regional Council/ArchaeoBW

“Even aft astir 1800 years, the grief implicit the decease of this 1 carnal is inactive evident,” Roth pointed out. In contrast, archaeologists besides discovered the remains of an big antheral among the horses, without immoderate sedate goods—clearly idiosyncratic Roman nine deemed unworthy of a respectful burial.

The full equine cemetery is apt overmuch larger than the remains uncovered by the caller excavation, which is present complete. Still, researchers anticipation further archaeozoological enactment volition uncover the horses’ sexes, ages, sizes, imaginable diseases, and causes of death—altogether, much details into the Roman army’s usage of horses.

The uncovering besides resonates wonderfully with the city’s historical transportation to the majestic animal: Stuttgart is derived from the older “Stuotgarten,” meaning “a plot for the horses.”