EAA2021: Abstract
Abstract is part of session #510:
Title & Content
Title:
Of horses and men: archaeological and archaeozoological evidence from Roman and early medieval sites in Slovenia
Content:
For millennia, horses and humans coexisted and interacted. Horses played important role in transportation, labour, diet, religion, and military services. They represented social status and wealth and often received considerable attention from their owners to make them appear elegant and attractive. In the archaeological record, this is most evident in the exquisite equestrian equipment, as well as ritual and burial practices.
Slovenian sites from the Roman period and the Early Middle Ages yielded a fairly large number of equestrian equipment and skeletal remains of horses from different archaeological contexts. However, the evidences of human-horse interaction from the two periods differ considerably. Pieces of equestrian equipment from the Roman period are not very numerous, regardless of the fact that cavalry was an essential part of the Roman army. Individual pieces are usually found in settlement layers, as parts of hoards or as stray finds. The remains of horse bones discovered in settlements, waste pits, cemeteries and wells, on the other hand, provide information about Roman dietary and ritual practices.
The situation in the Early Middle Ages is even more intriguing. Numerous items of equestrian equipment such as bits, stirrups, strap dividers, saddle parts and spurs come mainly from the hilltop sites and some hoards, but horse remains from these contexts are limited to single bones in the settlement layers. The objects, forged from high-quality metals and elaborately decorated, undoubtedly belonged to the riders of the upper class, but where are their horses?
Slovenian sites from the Roman period and the Early Middle Ages yielded a fairly large number of equestrian equipment and skeletal remains of horses from different archaeological contexts. However, the evidences of human-horse interaction from the two periods differ considerably. Pieces of equestrian equipment from the Roman period are not very numerous, regardless of the fact that cavalry was an essential part of the Roman army. Individual pieces are usually found in settlement layers, as parts of hoards or as stray finds. The remains of horse bones discovered in settlements, waste pits, cemeteries and wells, on the other hand, provide information about Roman dietary and ritual practices.
The situation in the Early Middle Ages is even more intriguing. Numerous items of equestrian equipment such as bits, stirrups, strap dividers, saddle parts and spurs come mainly from the hilltop sites and some hoards, but horse remains from these contexts are limited to single bones in the settlement layers. The objects, forged from high-quality metals and elaborately decorated, undoubtedly belonged to the riders of the upper class, but where are their horses?
Keywords:
human-horse interaction, archaeology, archaeozoology, Roman period, Early Middle Ages, Slovenian sites
Downloads:
authors
Main authors:
Špela Karo1
Co-author:
Borut Toškan2
Affiliations:
1 Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Centre for Preventive Archaeology
2 Research Centre SAZU Institute of Archaeology
2 Research Centre SAZU Institute of Archaeology