2,000-Year-Old Horse Burials Unearthed in France

VILLEDIEU-SUR-INDRE, FRANCE—CNN reports that the remains of 28 horses have been found in nine graves in central France by researchers from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP). The bones have been radiocarbon dated to between 100 B.C. and A.D. 100. Traces of a fortified Celtic settlement of similar age have been found in the area. In one of the pits, the complete remains of 10 horses were found. Another contained the remains of two horses. All of them were fully grown stallions that had been buried shortly after death, and placed on their right sides with their heads to the south. The remains of two dogs—placed on their left sides with their heads facing west—were found in a grave situated between these two pits. The other graves have not yet been fully excavated, but the archaeologists suspect that the horses were ritually sacrificed, or perhaps killed in battle. Julius Caesar conquered the region between 58 and 50 B.C. To read more about archaeological traces of the Gallic Wars, go to "Caesar's Gallic Outpost," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2012.