Soldier’s grief at horse’s death shown 1,800 years later as Roman skeleton found with grave gifts

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22 Apr 2025 11:06

Horse And Hound

The discovery of a Roman horses’ graveyard shows a soldier’s grief at the loss of his equine partner, 1,800 years later.

An excavation carried out by the state office for monument preservation (LAD) in Stuttgart has found the remains of more than 100 equine skeletons. The horses belonged to a Roman cavalry unit that was stationed at Hallschlag in the second century, and the find “provides unique insights into the use of horses by the Roman army”.

An LAD spokesperson said that in the first half of the century, the military base at Bad Cannstatt, now part of Stuttgart, was one of the most important in the area.

“The cavalry unit stationed here likely had a herd of over 700 animals,” he said. “When an animal died, it was buried in a specially selected area, well away from the fort and settlement.”

The archaeological excavation, carried out by ArchaeoBW under LAD supervision and as a result of a new housing construction project, started last July.

“The first horse bones discovered were randomly dated to the second century using the radiocarbon method,” said Sarah Roth, the archaeologist in charge at the LAD.

“Based on the archaeological and historical knowledge of the Roman Bad Cannstatt, the horses can be assigned to the cavalry unit – a so-called Ala – 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.”

Dead horses were buried some 400m from the fort and 200m from the civilian settlement; they were usually dragged individually into pits, and it is thought the holes’ location was marked above ground as there was little overlap.

Ms Roth said it does not appear that the horses died at the same time, in a battle or epidemic.

“Rather, the animals buried here either died of illness, injury, or other reasons during the Ala’s presence in Bad Cannstatt, or were no longer able to fulfill their role as military horses,” she said.

It is thought that most of the horses were not “buried” in a ceremonial way, but there were exceptions. One horse was found with a farewell gift; two jugs and a small oil lamp, as were often left in humans’ graves, were tucked into the crook of its leg.

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

The spokesperson added that the find gives an opportunity to learn more about the Romans’ horses, such as sex, age and size, cause of death, and possibly how they were kept and fed.