In the heart of Stuttgartduring the works for a new residential complex in the Bad Cannstatt district, an team of archaeologists made an extraordinary discovery: a Roman War Horses Cemetery dating back to about 1,800 years ago. It is a rare and precious discovery, which throws new light on the military presence of the Roman Empire in Germany in the second century AD
The remains of Over one hundred horses have been found arranged with a military caresome expanses, others with the legs collected, as if they were still waiting for a command. According to experts, these animals belonged to a cavalry unit called Wingallocated in the area between 100 and 150 AD these troops mounted, composed of about 500 men, were fundamental for supervise boundaries of the Empire and respond quickly to the threats of local Germanic populations.
The strategic positioning of the cemetery – 400 meters from the Forte and 200 from a civil settlement – suggests that the horses were buried far from the inhabited centers, to avoid hygienic problems, but close enough to fall within the logistics of the garrison. According to Sarah Roth, head of the excavations, it is estimated that For 500 knights at least 700 horses were neededcontinuously replaced due to illness, old age or wounds in battle.
The link between knight and horse
In the midst of these equine burials, archaeologists have also found one human skeleton, buried face downwithout funeral objects or signs of respect. This type of abnormal burial suggests a marginalizedperhaps a deserter or a criminal, abandoned among animals, far from official human cemeteries.
However, not all horses were treated as a simple “material to dispose of”. An equine skeleton was found with next to it two jugs and a ceramic lamptypical objects of human burials. A gesture that testifies to the emotional bond between knight and horsea feeling that managed to cross the centuries.
Bad Cannstatt’s website represents a Treasure for Roman military archeologyoffering clues to how they came managed, transported and buried animals which constituted the driving force of the imperial cavalry. The next analysis on the diet, the geographical origin and any bone injuries will be able to reveal new details on how Rome controlled its most unstable territories through the often forgotten power of its horses.
