Ancient Roman horse cemetery — with one exceptional burial — found in Germany
Kneeling in the chalky dirt of southern Germany, an archaeologist carefully dusted off yet another skeleton of yet another horse. What else would one expect in a massive ancient Roman cemetery for military horses?
But something about this particular grave turned out to be much more unusual — and intimate.
Archaeologists began excavating a plot of land in Stuttgart in summer 2024 in preparation for a construction project, the State Office for Monument Preservation at the Baden-Wurttemberg Regional Council said in an April 16 news release.
Previous construction projects in the area had unearthed several horse skeletons believed to be part of an ancient Roman cemetery so archaeologists assumed they’d find at least something.
What reemerged surpassed their expectations: They found a 1,800-year-old graveyard with over 100 horse skeletons.
Based on the location of the graveyard, its age and scale, archaeologists concluded the horses belonged to an ancient Roman military unit stationed in the area during the second century A.D., officials said. The unit had almost 500 riders and likely required a herd of at least 700 horses.
The horse skeletons showed no signs of dying in a major event, such as a battle or an epidemic, the department’s head archaeologist, Sarah Roth, said in the release. Rather, the animals likely died as a result of illness, injury or other such reasons.
The vast majority of horses appeared to have been buried without much added effort, but one horse was buried with two jugs and an oil lamp in the crook of its leg, officials said. The artifacts mimicked a typical human grave and showed a close bond between the animal and its owner.
The grief over the animal’s death was still evident 1,800 years later, Roth said in the release.
Excavations also found one human skeleton, likely an outsider considered undeserving of a grave in a regular Roman burial ground, officials said.
Archaeologists finished excavations at the Stuttgart site but believe the ancient Roman horse cemetery is larger than currently known. They plan to continue analyzing their finds to learn more about the Roman army’s use of horses.
Stuttgart is a city in southwestern Germany and a roughly 400-mile drive southwest from Berlin.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) at the Baden-Wurttemberg Regional Council.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Ancient Roman horse cemetery — with one exceptional burial — found in Germany."
