About a year ago I posted an entry about the Double Horse Burial at Ft Meigs. Since then, in the summer of 2010, a very large horse burial feature was unearthed along the Maas River near Amsterdam, Holland. Iron Age horse burials have been found occasionally in Europe as well as others dating to the Roman Empire but very few if any of these contained the remains of more than three or four animals. As can be imagined this was the largest equine mortuary feature ever discovered. The feature eventually yielded the remains of 69 horses that were laid out in a linear fashion in a single long trench. Some still had their shoes attached and there was evidence that one animal had been put down with a gu
n shot. Other than a single stirrup, no buckles, harness gear or other horse tack was recovered from the feature. From radio carbon dates obtained from the feature the burial is thought to date to one of two military incursions into that region during the 16th century. Attached are a couple of images sent along to me by Dr. Angela Simons, the project’s principal investigator. I have also provided a link to a published news article. Enjoy. http://www.physorg.com/news197131761.html Bill Pickard
About a year ago I posted an entry about the Double Horse Burial at Ft Meigs. Since then, in the summer of 2010, a very large horse burial feature was unearthed along the Maas River near Amsterdam, Holland. Iron Age horse burials have been found occasionally in Europe as well as others dating to the Roman Empire but very few if any of these contained the remains of more than three or four animals. As can be imagined this was the largest equine mortuary feature ever discovered. The feature eventually yielded the remains of 69 horses that were laid out in a linear fashion in a single long trench. Some still had their shoes attached and there was evidence that one animal had been put down with a gu
n shot. Other than a single stirrup, no buckles, harness gear or other horse tack was recovered from the feature. From radio carbon dates obtained from the feature the burial is thought to date to one of two military incursions into that region during the 16th century. Attached are a couple of images sent along to me by Dr. Angela Simons, the project’s principal investigator. I have also provided a link to a published news article. Enjoy. http://www.physorg.com/news197131761.html Bill Pickard
Posts
4 comments:
I wonder if those horses belonged to one of the Spanish armies fighting in the Netherlands during that century? Military campaigns always took a hard toll on horses. The Northwest Army in 1813 relied on pack horses until the river route to Fort Meigs opened in the Spring, and from the difficulty of finding forage in the Black Swamp, must have left similar piles of horse bones at posts throughout the region.
Hi Dan,
Dr Simons seems to think that the burial did date to one of the Spanish incursions. And you are likely correct about the pack animals and Ft Meigs. Actually considering all the military actions in northwest Ohio there were probably lots of horse bone piles. At Ft meigs the soldiers were ordered to police the grounds and get rid of dead horses and other stock and either bury them or throw the carcasses in the river. Knowing how soldiers love to dig holes big enough to bury a horse in I would guess a lot of them went "swimming". Those that dropped in the swamp wer probably relieved of their cargo as much as possible and left where they dropped. Folks that buzz up and down I-75 have no idea. Thanks for your interest in the OHS Archaeology blog.
Bill Pickard
Excellent post, but much too much.
What does that mean? Much too much? This is a fascinating topic and an important one to unlock the inexplicable details of world history. Each piece of the puzzle in the archaeological record that helps explain human existence strengthens our understanding of who we are. You cannot change the facts as they are uncovered no matter how peculiar they might be. I guess horse burials are not the sort of details one considers when envisioning an army's duties during wartime and that's what makes these finds so important. The information they provide could prove to be very helpful to connect the dots of misssing information in our ancestor's lives. Keep up the good work Dr. Pickard and Dr. Simons!
Post a Comment