Horse burials are ritual entombment of horses, relating to a deceased human. Horse burials take various forms including cremation, burial of horses with the dead person or in a separate area.
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The earliest proven horse burial in the Old World dates back to the fifth or fourth millennium BC and is found at S'ezzhee, in a cemetery on the Samara River in southwest Russia, along with horse figurines. Horse burial is part of a larger tradition of horse sacrifice.
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At sites of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age, the skin of a horse is hung over a pole with some bones left inside to keep the shape. This may represent an early horse culture or Cult of the Horse.
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Horses are domesticated in Eurasia c. 3800 BCE, in the steppes of today's Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The first known horse domestication comes from the Botai people of Eurasia. Horse burial in history covers the range of domesticates horses.
The Eurasian Steppe is the core of horse culture from c. 4000 BCE. Early cultures with a tradition of horse burial are those in or bordering the Central Asian area including Turkic, Chinese and Indo-European cultures.
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In ancient Germanic and Scandinavian lands, horses are commonly sacrificed and buried alongside deceased humans. Horse burial is found at the Bronze Age site of Hünenburg. Celtic and Gaulish ritual horse burials are also documented.
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In Greek mythology horses are sacred to sea god Poseidon. Poseidon fathers several horses including Pegasus and hero horse Arion. Sun god Apollo drives a chariot pulled by four horses. In Celtic lore Epona is the horse goddess, sometimes known as the Great Mare.
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The horse has strong symbolic and practical meaning for Bronze Age humans. In Celtic and Germanic cultures the horse relates to the travel of the sun across the sky. Horses may be deified, similar to the Bull Apis in Egypt, and are used in divination.
Divination by animal or herd movement is popular throughout history and still used today in some parts of the world. Other forms of divination include ornithomancy or information gleaned from the flight patterns or activities of birds.
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Entrail divination or haruspicy or is the study of viscera, especially the liver, of sacrificial animals. It's Practiced by groups such as the Etruscans, Assyrians, Babylonians, African and South American tribes and ancient Romans,
The liver is thought to be the center of essential life. Haruspicy is also practiced by ancient Assyrians, Babylonians, and by African and South American tribes. Animals commonly used are sacrificial sheep or poultry, with hens being among the most prophetic birds.
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Ancient world diviners consider horse activity and horse or herd behavior more revealing than their livers. In Chinese astrology the horse has powerful symbolic meaning. The Year of the Horse is one of travel, progressive action, luck and prosperity.
Human burial with other livestock is uncommon. From Bronze Age sites in Britain, 31 horse burials are found, but only one cow burial. At Uppsala in Sweden, male horse sacrifice accompanies that of other species as late as the 11th century CE.
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The oldest known horse burial in Egypt is a wrapped mummified horse in an enormous coffin, dating to the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550 - 1292 BCE). It's discovered on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes.
In Nubian and Egyptian society, horse burial becomes more prominent c. 728 to 657 BCE. Associated with horse burials are chariot burials. A grave might contain horse and chariot, or one of the two, or several.
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The two-wheeled chariot first appears in ancient Sumer (Mesopotamia) c. 3000 BCE. By the 13th century BCE various types of chariots are used. They include the three-wheeled chariot of the Hittites and sleek war chariots of Egyptians.
Assyria and other Mesopotamian regions all drive and develop chariots. Chariots appear in the Rigveda, evidence of their use in India in the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient Mycenaeans, Minoans and other Greek cultures take chariots to a new level and they're prominent in art.
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Greeks are also known to drown horses in sacrifice to Poseidon. The sea god Poseidon is originally a horse and freshwater god originating in Arcadia, the rustic home of Pan. The later Romans embrace both chariots and horse burials.
In Europe, domestication of the horse arrives c. 2000 BCE. The chariot is introduced to Europe by c. 2000 - 1500 BCE. Prior to the chariot, people fight on foot, rarely on horseback.
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Even after the horse comes to Europe it's primarily an animal of the wealthy and elite. The first mounted warriors are Botai and Yamnaya. The skill is rare in the west. Eastern cultures known as horse warriors develop their unique fighting methods in the 1st millennium BCE.
At some Gaulish and British sanctuaries, horses are killed and their bodies carefully buried. At Gournay-sur-Aronde, equines are left to decompose before their bones are buried around the bounds of the sanctuary, along with many broken weapons.
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This rite occurs at regular intervals of about ten years. Some south British tribes bury horses and dogs with care in grain storage pits. These are believed to be sacrifices of thanksgiving to underworld gods once the stores reached the end of their use.
Various people such as the Assyrians and Greeks develop the horse and chariot war culture into a fine art. In the ancient Olympic Games of Greece, c. 800 BCE chariot racing is a sporting event.
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After c. 1000 BCE the war chariot fades from grace as mounted cavalry begins to take its place. Wheeled wagons are adapted for use in siege weaponry. Chariots remain in wide use in parades, processions and sports, or evolve into coaches and carriages.
Different types of horse burials appear even within one region and culture. Horses are cremated or buried. Horses might be put into the same grave as humans, or in a different pit. Some cultures favor horse burial for male warriors, while others make no distinction.
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In the kurgan or tumulus burial above, apart from the male body with grave goods, the burial site includes 13 humans, with no adornment, buried above him. Around the edges of the burial 22 horses are buried in pairs.
Horse cults, along with Bull and Bear cults, are among the early religious persuasions of humankind. Archaeological evidence of a Horse Cult appears during the Iron Age and in some places goes back to the Bronze Age.
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In horse worship the horse is accorded attributes of divinity. Revered as a sacred animal the horse may be associated with a particular deity, or as a totem animal representing and embodying royal, military or personal power.
As a totem animal or animal spirit the horse corresponds to the Sun, freedom and the open road. Horses are associated with journeys physical and spiritual. Horse spirit people are in tune with the world around them.
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Horse cults and horse sacrifice are initially a practice of Eurasian nomad cultures. Beliefs and practice prevail into the early Middle Ages. In the Ashvamedha ritual, Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion, a horse is allowed to roam for a year, attended by soldiers, then sacrificed.
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