Roman Cavalry Horse Cemetery discovered in Stuttgart –

A 2nd century cemetery where horses from Roman cavalry were found in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany. There are more than 100 horses with bones there, making it the largest Roman cavalry and horse cemetery in southern Germany.

When the residence was built in the 1920s, horse skeletons were first excavated in this area of ​​the suburb of Bad Cannstatt in Stuttgart, although limited excavations were made, even at that time archaeologists considered it a Roman horse cemetery. The site was excavated in July last year before the new construction project under the supervision of the State Monument Conservation Office (LAD) of the Stuttgart Regional Council. They excavated about 100 horses and the remains of a man, between animals and not in the cemeteries of Roman settlements, without graves, they were unparalleled in his belly.

The horses belong to the ALA, a cavalry unit stationed at Bad Cannstatt from 100 to 150 AD, which had troops of nearly 500 cavalry and maintained a herd of at least 700 horses, when one of their horses died, they were buried in a designated area of ​​the fort, 1,300 feet from the fort, and from the relevant citizen reconciliation. They were buried on either side of shallow pits. The pits were crowded with people, but there was no overlap, so there must be serious marks on the funeral.

[LAD lead archaeologist Sarah] 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. 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. If the horse could still walk on its own, it would have been brought to the horse cemetery and killed on site to avoid having to transport the heavy carcass.” The exact size of the Horse Cemetery is still unknown. “Of course, it was initially larger than the area about 70 x 80 meters northeast of the new building site where the bones were found,” Ross said.

Most animals may be disposed of rather than buried, with some exceptions: as farewell gifts, two jugs and a small oil lamp, typical human cemetery items, placed in the bend of one of the horses’ arms. Ross: “Here we see the bond between the owner and his horse is particularly close. Even after about 1800 years, the grief of the death of this animal is still obvious.”

The remains of the horse will now be analyzed scientifically. Finding many horse skeletons associated with a cavalry unit at one location gives archaeologists a rare opportunity to gain new insights into the relationship between Roman cavalry and horses.

Archaeological surveys are expected to provide information on gender, age of death and horse size, as well as their use as horse riding animals, possible diseases and causes of death. Scientific research can also clarify further questions: How do animals preserve and feed them? Where did the first generation of horses come from, and later breed in bad Cannstatt or the surrounding areas? This is not a minor problem in the state capital named after its “Stutengarten” (Mare Garden).