In the summer of 2024, a team of archaeologists was called in at a housing project in Stuttgart’s Bad Cannstatt district and stumbled upon something that hadn’t been seen in nearly 2,000 years. It was a vast and haunting graveyard of Roman warhorses.
More than a hundred skeletons lay beneath the soil, some stretched flat, others curled slightly as if still bracing for a command. Nearby, the remains of a man lay prone, his face turned to the earth and without any grave goods — a burial without ceremony that suggests he was likely and outsider who wasn’t held in any particular high esteem.
The Warhorses of an Ancient Garrison
The horses, radiocarbon dated to the 2nd century A.D., belonged to an elite Roman cavalry unit called an Ala. These units typically included around 500 mounted troops, responsible for patrolling the outer edge of the Roman Empire in this part of Germania.
“Finding such a large horse cemetery from Roman times is very rare,” Dr. Sarah Roth, lead archaeologist at the State Office for Monument Preservation in the Stuttgart Regional Council, told Live Science. “We hadn’t expected to find so many horses still preserved in the ground. This was truly a surprise!”
The Ala was stationed at a nearby Roman fort between A.D. 100 and 150. At the time, southwest Germany was a frontier region of strategic importance. Rome’s borders here were porous, constantly threatened by skirmishes and shifting alliances with Germanic tribes. Cavalry units like this one were the Empire’s rapid response force — mounted soldiers trained to control territory and deliver urgent messages. Horses were, in Roth’s words, “the fastest means of transport on land at the time.”
Over the years, horses died from illness, battle, injury, or old age. Some, no longer fit for military service, were led to this quiet field, where they were put down and buried. The graves lie about 400 meters from the fort and 200 meters from a civilian settlement — far enough to avoid stench and disease, close enough to remain part of the garrison’s routines.
“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,” Roth said in a statement.
The Romans would drag some horse carcasses to their final resting place, often on a sledge. Their bodies were placed in shallow pits, legs either outstretched or curled. Despite the density of the site, the graves rarely overlapped. Researchers suspect they were once marked — perhaps with wood or stone — though time has erased such markers if they ever existed.
A Bond That Endured for Millennia
Most horse burials were utilitarian. A dead horse was a practical problem — one to be dealt with swiftly and with little fuss. But not always.
One of the skeletons stood out. It had been buried with two ceramic jugs and a small oil lamp, tucked near its foreleg. These are the kinds of objects typically found in human graves.
“Here we see a particularly close connection of the owner to his horse. Even after about 1800 years, the grief over the death of this one animal is still apparent,” said Roth in a press release.
The gesture of burial with grave goods — even for a horse — speaks volumes about the emotional bond between Roman cavalrymen and their animals. For some equities, their horses weren’t merely tools of war. They were comrades.
Roman history is filled with stories about the status of horses. The emperor Caligula, according to legend, tried to appoint his horse as a senator. Though likely apocryphal, the story captures how horses held symbolic and practical value in Roman life — especially among the military class.
A Man Among the Dead
Alongside the animals, archaeologists uncovered a human skeleton. He had been buried face-down, arms stiff, without any grave goods. No coins. No offerings. No proper burial rites. Just a body dumped among the horses.
Its placement was odd. Roman cemeteries for people lay nearby — about half a kilometer away in this case. His position, said Roth, suggests the man was “disposed of” rather than laid to rest.
He may have been an outsider. A deserter. Maybe a criminal. Or simply someone who died without anyone to care for him. Whatever his story, he now rests among the cavalry’s fallen beasts.
Rome’s Equine Machinery
The Bad Cannstatt site adds to a growing body of knowledge about Rome’s military logistics. It shows that cavalry horses weren’t just moved through the empire — they were managed, replaced, mourned, and, in rare cases, remembered.
Where were the horses bred? What did they eat? Were some locally sourced while others arrived from across the empire? How did their health affect the stability of Rome’s borderlands?
Such questions drive the next phase of the dig, which will study the bones for signs of diet, origin, and trauma. For now, the sheer scale of the find is enough to shift assumptions.
Some Interesting Facts About Horses During the Roman Empire
🐎 Elite Cavalry Units
The Roman cavalry, known as equites, played a crucial role in military campaigns, providing mobility and speed that complemented the infantry.
🎠 Chariot Racing
Chariot races were immensely popular in ancient Rome, held in massive arenas like the Circus Maximus, which could accommodate up to 150,000 spectators.
🛡️ Hippika Gymnasia Displays
Roman cavalrymen participated in hippika gymnasia, elaborate military exercises that showcased their riding skills and served as both training and public entertainment.
🔮 Sacred White Horses
In Roman religion, white horses were considered sacred to Jupiter, the king of the gods, symbolizing purity and divine favor.
🎭 Theatrical Armor for Horses
During ceremonial events, horses were adorned with ornate armor and decorations, transforming them into symbols of Roman grandeur and power.
📏 Clean Horses
The Romans cleaned their horses with coarse palm leather gloves, horsehair brushes, sponges, wooden knives to scrape sweat and wooden scrapers. Horses were covered with rugs at night in the stable.
📬 Efficient Postal System
The Roman postal system, known as the cursus publicus, utilized horses to deliver messages swiftly across the empire. Special stations were set up at intervals where messengers could change horses, allowing for rapid communication.
🍽️ Specialized Diets
Roman horses were primarily fed straw and barley. Seasonal diets included cereal forage in spring, pure barley and fresh grass in summer, and peas in winter to aid digestion.
🎠 Equestrian Training Grounds
The Trigarium in Rome was a dedicated space for training horses and charioteers. It was an open area without permanent structures, allowing for various equestrian exercises and chariot training.
🧪 Assessing Horse Quality
Romans evaluated horses based on physical attributes. A high neck, short belly, elongated head, and solid hooves were considered desirable traits. The sound of a horse’s hoof hitting the pavement was also an indicator of quality.
