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1,400-year-old remains of headless horse and rider discovered in Germany
Live Science ^ | February 1, 2022 | Owen Jarus

Posted on 02/06/2022 7:01:27 AM PST by SunkenCiv

The skeletal remains of a man buried 1,400 years ago near a headless horse have been discovered at an ancient cemetery in the town of Knittlingen in southern Germany. He likely was the horse's owner/rider when he was alive.

The man was buried at a time when the Merovingian dynasty (A.D. 476–750) flourished in the area, ruling a giant swath of territory in what is now France and Central Europe.

During his lifetime, the man likely served the dynasty's kings. "He stood in a 'chain of command' with the Merovingian kings on its top, which meant he was obliged to participate in the king's campaigns," Folke Damminger, an archaeologist in charge of research at the site, told Live Science in an email...

Why exactly he was buried near a headless horse is not clear, but "most probably the decapitation [of the horse] was part of the burial ceremony," Damminger told Live Science. The horse may have been placed near its owner as a 'grave good' for the afterlife rather than a sacrifice, Damminger said. The horse's head has not been found so far.

His family members would have wanted to portray him as a wealthy and important individual so that they could benefit from his status. "One function of this ceremony was the 'staging' of the deceased in his former status and wealth as a claim of his successors to maintain this status," Damminger said.

The archaeologists discovered the remains of several other people, who lived at around the same time as this rider, within the same cemetery. Some of them were buried with wealthy grave goods, such as a woman interred with a gold brooch. Some of the men were buried with weapons such as swords, lances, shields and arrowheads.

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; animalhusbandry; bornthatway; domestication; germany; godsgravesglyphs; horse; horses; knittlingen; merovingians
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This decapitated horse, dating back about 1,400 years, was found next to the remains of a male rider.
Image credit: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in the Regional Council of Stuttgart/ F. Damminger
Image credit: State Office for the Preservation of Monuments in the Regional Council of Stuttgart/ F. Damminger

1 posted on 02/06/2022 7:01:27 AM PST by SunkenCiv
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Archaeologists don't know why the horse was decapitated? Aha! Maybe it was just born that way.

2 posted on 02/06/2022 7:02:16 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: SunkenCiv

Does the rider still have it’s head? Just askin’.


3 posted on 02/06/2022 7:03:42 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET
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To: SunkenCiv
FINALLY! An answer to the question "what'd they do with the rest of him?"


4 posted on 02/06/2022 7:04:20 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: SunkenCiv

the headless horseman...


5 posted on 02/06/2022 7:05:09 AM PST by heavy metal (smiling improves your face value and makes people wonder what the hell you're up to... 😁)
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To: SunkenCiv

but “most probably the decapitation [of the horse] was part of the burial ceremony...

The mafia was sending a message back in the day.


6 posted on 02/06/2022 7:08:50 AM PST by Flick Lives (The CDC. Brought to you by Pfizer.)
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To: SunkenCiv
I knew we got it wrong. It was a "headless horse" and man. Not a "headless horseman".


7 posted on 02/06/2022 7:20:16 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: SunkenCiv

Perhaps Miles Standish could provide some insight...


8 posted on 02/06/2022 7:48:01 AM PST by null and void (81 million votes ≠ 81 million voters)
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To: SunkenCiv

They must be excavating “Sleepy Hollow.”


9 posted on 02/06/2022 8:02:30 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: tired&retired
More cowbell!
Christopher Walken

10 posted on 02/06/2022 8:19:57 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: heavy metal

That’s what I was thinking. In all the folklore I’ve seen regarding this, the horse was never headless.


11 posted on 02/06/2022 8:20:03 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
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To: DannyTN

Maybe he was a horseless headman.


12 posted on 02/06/2022 8:38:50 AM PST by seowulf (Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos...Will Durant)
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To: SunkenCiv

Maybe he was the headmaster of a school that was requiring masking?


13 posted on 02/06/2022 8:40:14 AM PST by Sarcazmo
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To: DannyTN

Ooooooooooooohhh.... The guy said “I saw a headless horse, man!”

The comma was lost to history.


14 posted on 02/06/2022 8:41:52 AM PST by Sarcazmo
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To: SunkenCiv

The Godfather is that old?


15 posted on 02/06/2022 8:46:14 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith….)
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To: metmom
Somewhere they'll find the ruins of a castle, and the taxidermied head will still be hanging over the fireplace.

16 posted on 02/06/2022 8:57:56 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: Sarcazmo

Wouldn’t that make him a headlessmaster?


17 posted on 02/06/2022 8:58:40 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: null and void

I’ve often thought how Miles Runnish would have been a more appropriate name for that guy.


18 posted on 02/06/2022 9:05:33 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: null and void
'Perhaps Miles Standish could provide some insight..."
Why Miles Standish? I don't get it. Miles Standish from the Plymouth Colony?
19 posted on 02/06/2022 4:34:57 PM PST by Hiddigeigei ("Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish," said Dionysus - Euripides)
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To: SunkenCiv

Ich bod ein Crane? 😉


20 posted on 02/06/2022 6:07:23 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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