In the News: Sensational Archaeological Discovery in Stuttgart

An excavation by the State Office for Monument Preservation uncovered more than 100 Roman horse skeletons in southwestern Germany.

_{Source: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council/ArchaeoBW}

The animals belonged to a cavalry unit stationed at Hallschlag in Bad Cannstatt, one of the most important Roman military bases in the 2nd century CE.

Horse skeletons were first discovered in the area during the construction of residential buildings in the 1920s. Even then, the site was interpreted as a Roman horse cemetery, or Schindanger.

“The first horse bones discovered were randomly dated to the 2nd century using the radiocarbon method,” reports Sarah Roth in the original press release. “Based on the archaeological and historical knowledge of the Roman Bad Cannstatt, the horses can be assigned to the cavalry unit … that was stationed at Hallschlag from approximately 100 to 150 AD. The troop, with almost 500 riders, is likely to have had a total horse population of at least 700 animals, and losses had to be constantly replaced.”

_{Source: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council/ArchaeoBW}

The horses were buried about a quarter mile from the cavalry fort and half that distance from the civilian settlement.

Roth continues, “The horses do not all appear to have died at the same time in a major event such as a battle or epidemic.”

They were carefully placed, with burial plots rarely overlapping.

One particular horse was buried with burial gifts—two jugs and an oil lamp placed in the crook of its front legs.

“Here we see a particularly close bond between the owner and his horse. Even after some 1,800 years, the grief over the death of this one animal is still evident,” Roth noted.

_{Source: State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council/ArchaeoBW}

Following the excavations, the skeletons are expected to offer a valuable opportunity to gain more detailed insights into the horses of the Roman army.

Archaeozoological investigations will aim to determine the sex, age at death, and size of the animals, as well as their use as riding horses, potential diseases, and causes of death.

Scientific studies may also help answer broader questions: How were the animals kept and fed? Where did the first generation of horses originate?

Go riding.

Amanda Uechi Ronan is an equestrian, author, and wannabe race car driver. Follow her on Instagram @au_ronan.