Iron Age Horse Burial

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T he four horses of an Iron Age

apocalypse: war-horses from the

third-century weapon sacrifice at IUerup

Aadal (Denmark)

Andres S. Dobat^ T. Douglas Priced Jacob Kveiborg^ Jörgen

Peter Rowley-Conw y^

originally come ftom.

The IUerup Aadal weapon sacrifice m irrors

the m aterial world ofi a Germanic army

firom c. AD 2L0. Apart ftom the personal

equipment and the weaponry ofi more than

400 warriors it com prises fiour horses.

The present paper gives the first conclusive

analysis o fi the skeletal remains ofi these

animals involving osteologic l investigation

and strontium isotope analysis. The results

shed new light on the c haracter ofi the

sacrificial

ceremonies

which

unfiolded

in the

aftermath ofi Iron Age battles; on the nature

ofi c v lry and its significance in Iron Ag e

warfiare; and on the much debated question

as to w here the army ofi IUerup Aadal had

Keywords: Scandinavia, Denmark, IUerup Aadal, Roman Iron Age, horses, sacrifice, warfare

ntrodu tion

Since the late nineteenth century, more than 30 so-called weapon sacrifices dating from the

period between the pre-Rom an Iron Age and the M igration period (c. 350 B C -A D 600)

have been discovered and investigated in the area of modern-day Denmark. While varying

considerably in size and composition, all finds include various types of weapons, elements

of personal equipment and other objects. Historical and archaeological parallels suggest that

the finds represent the votive offerings of

victorious army to some sort of war god.

' Departmen t of Culture and Society Aarhus University MoesgârdA llé 20 H ejbjerg DK 8270 Denm ark

^ Departmen t of Anthropology U niversity of Wisconsin Mad ison WI53706 USA

^ Moesgärd Museum Moesgârd Allé 20 Hêjbjerg DK 8270 Denmark

'' Departmen t of Archae ology Durham University South Road Durham DHl 3LF UK

© Antiquity Publications Ltd.



The four horses of an Iron Age poc lypse

Four different offerings from the period berween the third an d the fifth centuries A D have

been identified and excavated at Illerup Aadal, a long stretch of river valley on the eastern

side of the pen insula of Jutland , south-west of the m odern city of Aa rhus. Th e m ajority of

the artefacts be lon g to the oldest, and by far the biggest, of the various offerings (Illerup

Aadal A) dating from the early third c entury. Today, this particular offering can be regarded

as one of the largest and most complex sites of

ts

kind (Ilkjser 2000). The assemblage from

Illerup Aadal A alone com prises 35 0 shields, 36 6 lances an d 41 0 spears, at least 100 swords,

11 sets of riding gear, 124 sets of strike-a-lights and othe r elem ents of the w arriors' pe rsonal

equipment, as well as a complete set of different tools for wood- and metalworking. The

find therefore paints a complex picture of an army consisting of at least 400 men organised

wi thin a strict hierarchical struc ture with complex functional differentiation an d associated

with a well-developed logistical apparatus (Ilkjsr 1990, 1 993 , 20 01 ; von Ca rnap -Bo rnhe im

Ilkjsr 1996a; Do bat 2008 ).

In the course of the sacrificial ritual, the majority of the artefacts underwent a process of

systematic destruction before being deposited on the bottom of the shallow lake of Illerup

Aadal, either as wrapp ed b undles dro pped from boats or simply throw n in to the lake from

its southern shore (llkja^r 1990: 13-27, 2002).

Although the different artefacts ob-

viously tepresent individual combatants,

there is no evidence at all for the sacrifice

of humans or war-related deaths. The only

living creatures that apparently played a

role in the sacrifice were at least four

horses and a single bovine (see also R owley-

Co nw y 1980). T he skeletal remains of these

animals are exttaordinarily well preserved

due to the favourable conditions in the

peat layers of the Illerup Aadal river valley

(Figure 1). Hence, they provide a rare view

of cavalry as a central aspect of Iron Age

military infrastructure in Northetn Europe.

Furthermore, the horses ftom Illerup Aadal

also provide a medium for the application

of new scientific m etho ds such as stro ntiu m

isotope analysis, which has proved to be a

powerful tool for the investigation of the

origins of archaeological material. Tooth enamel from two of the horses has been analysed

for strontium isotopes. The results afford new perspectives on the origin of the army from

Illerup Aadal A.

Figure ¡. Ihe skeletal remains oj horse 3 urouiid point

¡3 ¡ 00/85 00 of the site during excavation seen from the

north.

The horses in the context of the Illerup Aadal deposit

The four horses were excavated close to the southern shore of the Iron Age lake; horses

1 and 2 were found within the core area of the major deposit of Illerup Aadal A, around

© Antiquity Publications Ltd,



Andres S. Dohat

et al.

58 00/46 00

Eigure 2. Skeletal remains o f horse 1 dark grey) around point 59 50/47 00 of the sacrificial site.

point 59,5 0/47 ,00 and poin t 62,0 0/47 ,00 of the excavated area (see plan C in von C arnap -

Bo rnheim Ilkjs r 1996 b). Lance- or spearheads and other pieces of we apon ry and personal

equipment were found lying together with the animal bones, documenting the connection

of these two animals with the major sacrifice of Illerup Aadal A (dating to around the year

AD 210) (Figure 2). The circumstances are more ambiguous in the case of horses 3 and

4 ,

which were both found in the periphery of the deposition at Illerup Aadal A, around

po int 13 1,0 0/85 ,00 8 (see 131/85 Plan 1 in von Car nap -Bo rnhe im 0¿ Ilkjíer 1996b) an d

po int 2 23 ,00 /13 2,0 0. H owever, the similarity regarding ritually inflicted injuries o n all four

horses (see below) strongly suggests that they were all part of the sacrificial events. Horses

1 and 2 were accompanied by a single bovine; this animal will, however, not be fiarther

discussed in the present study.

W ith the exception of a few m issing bon e elem ents, the skeletons of horses 1 and 3 were

almost com plete. In the case of horse 1, the lower leg bones (me tapodia a nd phalanges) were



The four

horses

of an Iron Age

poc lypse

found in the immediate vicinity of the torso, suggesting that some displacement occurred

during the decay of the carcass. Horse 2 completely lacks both rear legs including the pelvic

girdle, while ho rse 4 lacks only the left rear leg. Som e of the an imals were partly disarticulate d

prior to their deposition in the lake. The complete lack of gnawing marks on the skeletal

remains of all four horses indicates that the horses were deposited and covered by water

immediately or shortly after the sacrifice. The isolated left hind leg (from the femur to the

phalanges) of a horse was found at poi nt 8 3,00 /93 ,00 (see 83/9 3 Plan 1 in von Ga rnap

Born heim Ilkjsr 1996 b). It is probable that this leg belonged to either horse 2 or 4. Du e

to the lack of bone elements suitable for detailed aging and sexing, however, these bones are

not included in the following discussion.

T he IUerup Aadal horses are not u niq ue. Several horse skeletons were found dur ing the

early excavation of the weapon sacrifices at Nydam in southern Judand (Engelhardt 1865:

36-42). Here they can probably be associated with major offerings during the third and

fourth centuries A D (Rau 201 0). Bones from one or more horses were also recorded d urin g

the early excavations of the sacrifices at Vim ose, which is partly co nte m por ary with the IUerup

Aadal A sacrifice, and at Kragehul (Eng elhardt 18 67 ,18 69 : 30), bo th on the island of Fune n.

The ritual killings

Just as wit h th e othe r material co m po ne nts of the find, the horses show clear traces of

seemingly violent 'destruction'. The skull of horse 2 (Figure 3) displays traces of at least 12

cuts from sharp-edged (bu t not particularly heavy) instrum ents, 10 w oun ds from poin ted

weapons struck or shot from various directions and a heavy blow to the forehead with a

massive blunt instrument (a hammer or the back of an axe). Three injuries from pointed

weapons were found on the palate bone inside the nasal cavity, showing that the weapons

were driven with great force thro ug h th e skull. O nly th e heavy blow to the anima l's forehead,

however, can be identified as most definitely fatal. Of the 18 paired ribs only two ribs (costae)

from the left and three ribs from the right have no visible injuries. T h e im pacts are dom ina ted

by perforations made by pointed weapons and cut marks made by sharp-edged weapons.

The majority of the wounds have been infiicted laterally but some perforations were found

on the inside of the ribs suggesting that the weapons (most probably arrows) penetrated

the torso. The direction of the injuries indicates that horse 2 was struck, shot and stabbed

several times from various directions. T he group ing of two distinct types of wo und s probably

indicates that the wounds were infiicted by at least two individuals standing next to each

othe r with two different types of we apon s (prob ably a sword an d a lance or spear) (Figure 4).

The orientation of the injuries and the fact that they are found on both sides of the torso

indicate that the anima l was standing while the woun ds were infiicted.

Ho rse 1 received a blow to the forehead similar to horse 2. T h e injuries inflicted o n t he

torso are no t as conclusive as in the case of horse 2; however, as w ith the latter, som e injuries

may have been infiicted while the animal was standing. The position and direction of the

deep cut marks on the lower front legs of horse 1, by contrast, indicate that they happened

when the horse was lying on its left side. The injuries from cutting weapons inflicted on

the right radius, ulna and metacarpal bones are found on the lateral side of the bones

while injuries infiicted on the left third metacarpal are found on the medial part of the





The four

horses

of an Iron Age

apocalypse

Table 1. The estimated sex, age and height at withers of the four horses from

IUerup Aadal A and strontium isotope ratios of tooth enamel from horses 1 and 3.

Horse 1

Horse 2

Hotse 3

Horse 4

Sex

male

male

male

male

Age in years

10

7

8-9

6-7

Min .

123.7

138.5

130.2

128.8

Heig ht at withers in cm)

Max.

133.0

144.2

139.6

139.1

Mean

129.8

141.3

136.3

135.0

^Sr/'^^Sr

0.710657

0.710357

Figure 4. The skeleton

o f

horse

2

showing two

distinct

groups

of njuries

from

cutting -) an d pointed

weapons <)) probably

swords and lances or spears, respectively). Horse drawing by Michel Coutureau a nd Vianney Forest © 1996ArcheoZoo.org

Charger or nag?

All four horses have pronounced canine teeth indicative of the male sex. Based on tooth

developm ent a nd wear of the m andib ular incisor teeth, horse 1 can be estimated to have

been ab out 10 years old, while horse 2 may have been somew hat younger, probably arou nd

7 years (estimates on the basis of Habermehl 1975). Horses 3 and for 4 are estimated to

have had an age of 8-9 years and 6-7 years respectively (Table 1). In modern dressage,

reminiscent of military training (Museler 1972), the basic preparation of a horse is norm ally

concluded after the animal is 6 or 7 years of age.

© Antiquity Publications Ltd.



Andres S Dobat et al.

For this study, all complete long bones (i.e. femur, tibia, metatarsus, humérus, radius

and metacarpus) and shoulder blades (scapulae) were measured according to the guide

hnes given by von den Driesch and Boessneck (1974: fig. 1) and von den Driesch (1976).

The final estimation of the stature (height) of each horse was based on the mean value of

all measurements from each individual as recommended by Kiesewalter (1888), von den

Driesch and Boessneck (1974: 335) and Ambros and Müller (1975: 45-47). According

to the size of the long bones, the horses had an estimated height at the withers between

130cm and 4 cm (Table 1). The Illerup Aadal horses would thus have been comparable

with average or large-sized prehistoric horses and modern day Icelandic horses with height

at withers between 120cm and l40cm. Compared to other contemporary finds of horses

ftom Iron Age contexts in Scandinavia, horse 2 appears to have been a surprisingly large

animal. In a supra-regional perspective, it can be categorised as belonging to the upper range

of Iron Age horses in Central and Northern Europe (Bökönyi 1968; Reichstein 2003). One

could speculate whe ther this migh t indicate the imp ort of horses from either Eastern Eu rope

or the Roman Empire. It is of particular interest in this respect that various elements of

ridmg equipment found in southern Scandinavian weapon sacrifices show close similarities

to riding gear from the northern Danube area or the Roman Empire (Lau 2009: 272, 276).

The use of bits is indicated by pathological changes on the mandibles of the two oldest

horses (1 and 3), which can be associated with the use of hard metal bits. Horse 1 exhibits

distinct 'bone spurs ' on the diastema (the gap between the canines and the cheek teeth),

whereas horse 3 has a very steep bevel and a distinct dentine/enamel abrasion on the vertical

anterior/mesial edge of the second lower premolars (P2) (Bendrey 2007 ; An tho ny ôc Brown

2011). Two different types of mouth pieces are present in the Illerup Aadal assemblage: two

examples of simple iron-jointed snaffle bits and nine complete sets of curb bits with stiff

mouthpieces (Figure 5). The latter are highly complex devices with the actual mouthpiece

and the lower parts of the reins made of bronze and iron. Their ftinctional principle is

equivalent to modern curb bits, which ate particularly common in Western-style riding,

with a stiff mouthpiece and lever arms. The standard equipment used for war-horses in the

Roman cavalry displays clear parallels (Junkelmann 1992). Such curb bits are considered

highly specialised gear which, when used in action, affect several parts of the horse's head

and m ou th. A ccentua ting the pressure applied by the rider, they hold the p otential to inflict

severe pain on the horse, and thu s gain absolute obedience a nd c ontrol over its mo vem ents

(Junke lma nn 1992: 15; see also Lau 20 09: 28 7). Th e use of such harsh tools wou ld have

presupposed a long process of training, making the animal accustomed to this particular

type of mouthpiece.

Th e famous fourth-century-BC works on horses and horsemanship by Xen ophon {Peri

hippikes and Hipparchicus; M arch ant Bowersock 1968 [1925]) and the treatise on cavalry

tact ics in the^w áctica by Arrian (second century AD ; Hyland 1993) provide a detailed

view of the enormous effort that was involved in the education of horses intended for use

on the battlefield in a Greek or Roman military context (Gillmor 1992; Hyland 1993).

The horses deposited at Illerup Aadal had reached the peak of their individual physical

and mental development and the pathological changes on the mandibles and premolars

are indicative not only of intensive use, but also training with iron bits. Even though horse

train ing in Iron Age Scandinavia m ost certainly followed different stan dard s than in Classical



The four horses of an Iron Age apocalypse

Greece and Rome or in modern dressage,

we may assume that these animals

underwent a lengthy and intensive training

regime, enabling their masters to use them

in a battlefield environment that was

stressful for both rider and horse.

War-horse or scapegoat?

We cannot take for granted that these

horses originally belonged to the armies

represented by the offering. Several

alternative scenarios leading to the horses

inclusion as an element of the sacrifice at

Illerup Aadal can be proposed. They may

have been picked up in enemy territory

following the arrival of the armies via ship or

boat. Another possibility is that the horses

from Illerup Aadal did not belong to the

opposing armies at all, but were chosen

among the local stock, belonging to the

victorious community

itself

and used only

for the occasion of the sacrifice.

There are, however, several lines of

evidence which suggest that the inclusion

of the horses in the sacrifice reflects

their original association with the defeated

armies of Illerup Aadal A. First of all, the

horses show the same traces of des tructio n

as we see on certain material elements of

the offering, especially the military equipment and the riding gear belonging to the highest

level of the military hierarchy. Another argument can be based on the fact that the headgear

found at Illerup Aadal seems to have been made to fit individual horses, given that it lacks

any ability for adjustment to cater to the varying sizes and shapes of the heads of different

horses (Lau 2009: 285). Indeed, the image of a military leader bringing non-adjustable

headgear into enemy territory in the hopes of finding a suitable horse on which to put it

renders this scenario rather implausible.

The most decisive argument, however, for the direct relation between the armies and the

horses from Illerup Aadal A are the specific requirements for horses in combat situations,

which presuppose extensive training and practice. In actual com bat, the acqu aintance of the

horse with equipment and rider would have proved essential (see the discussion above). An

unk now n horse, taken into possession somew here in enemy territory, would simply no t have

done the job. We can at least regard it as most likely that the horses deposited in the great

sacrifice of Illerup Aadal A along with military and personal equipment originally belonged

igure

5

Schematic reconstruction of he harnesses and curh

hits fiom Illerup Aadal A (afier von Ca rnap-Bornheim

Ilkjar 1996a). Drawing hy Lars oged Thomsen.



Andres S Dobat

et al.

to the warrior group represented by this find. Hence, it follows that they originated from

the same regional contexts as their masters. It is noteworthy that the horses found in the

contex t of the sacrifices at N yda m s upp ort this assum ption. According to the original re port

on their recovery in the late nineteenth century, the horses were found with parts of their

headgear still in position (Engelhardt 1865: 36). Furthermore, the horses at Nydam had

also received similar treatment to the animals at Illerup, showing a multitude of injuries

from different types of weapons (Engelhardt 1865: 40, figs. A-E).

W here did the horses come from?

From the very beginning of modern research on the Illerup Aadal weapon sacrifices, the

origm of the armies that are represented by the assemblage has been one of the major topics

of

debate.

It has been suggested that the provenance of the material (and, hence, opposing

armies) for the Illerup Aadal A deposit is the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula

(i.e. mo dern -day No rw ay or western Sweden). This hypo thesis, based on th e stylistic analysis

of archaeological material (Ilkjser 1993: 374-85) and scientific methods (Ilkjjer etal 1994;

Ilkjsr

2 0 0 1 :

3 76 ), has constituted the back groun d for a historical scenario in which one or a

coalition of several hostile armies crossed the Kattegat (the sea between Judand and Sweden)

and attacked the Ju da nd peninsula, w here they were eventually defeated by an eastern Jutish

military coalition.

Recent debate has focused on the question of whether the sites mirror defensive or

offensive military actions, in other words whether the sacrifices were conducted by the

defending communities (who had been attacked by the armies represented by the finds)

or whether the booty was collected by attacking armies after a victorious expedition into

foreign areas and thereafter transported back home for later sacrifice in a local context. Both

scenarios seem possible on the basis of the background of the archaeological evidence at

m ost of the finds. For the Illerup Aadal assemblage, the considerable n um ber of im plem ents

of military infrastructure, such as tools for wood- and/or metalworking (Dobat 2008) may

suggest tha t it was in fact the sacrificed arm y tha t had been on cam paign in foreign

territories. In order to include both possible scenarios, we will avoid speaking of the army

from Illerup Aadal A as the

attacking

army and instead use

opposin

army.

T he uniform appearance of the assemblage at Illerup Aadal A suggests that the com batan ts

had their origin within a coherent cultural community. However, there are also artefacts

(e.g. several strike-a-light sets) which point toward the Gontinent (southern Denmark or

modern-day northern Germany) as the most probable place of origin of either the warriors

or the artefacts, or bo th (Ilkj^r 1993 : 37 8). H ence , it is possible that the army had a m ore

or less heterogeneous composition, with different units recruited from different areas, or

individual combatants from various places joining the coalition for the limited period of

single military exped ition (comp are Jensen 2 00 8: 146; see also Price etal 20 11). The horses

from Illerup Aadal are of particular relevance in this regard, as they relate to the military

infrastructure and the leading elites. Tracing the origin of the horses thus enables us at least

to narrow the original spatial context of the organisational and strategic backbone of the

military alliance that made up the army of Illerup Aadal A.



The four

horses

of an Iron Age

poc lypse

In order ro identify rhe possible geographical origin of rhe horses, roorh enamel from

horses 1 and 3 was analysed for srro nrium isotopes. T hi s was do ne in full recognirion of

rhe various m ethodological limirarions of srronrium isoropes as indicarors of regional origin

and despire rhe similariry of baseline values across rhe moraine landscape of sourhern

Scandinavia. Ir was expected, however, rhar rhe analysis would conrribure positively

ro rhe question of wherher or nor rhe army of Illerup Aadal A originared from rhe

ancient crystalline geological zones norrh and easr of rhe Karregar (Norway or wesrern

Sweden), as has previously been proposed, or wherher rhey came from somewhere in rhe

moraine landscapes of southern Scandinavia (modern-day Denmark, norrhern Cermany or

southern Sweden).

T he principles of isoropic proven ancing rely on isoropes rhat exhibir geographic variation

an d are incor pora red in an anima l's skeleron via rhe food chain (Sillen Kavanagh 198 2;

Price 20 00 ; Price

etal.

20 02 ). An essenrial quesrion regarding srronrium isorope analysis, and

a prerequisire for disringuishing between local or foreign origin, is rhe idenrification of the

specific srronrium isotope signal for rhe area in which rhe animal remains were found (Price

etal.

2002). The local bioavailable isoropic signal of rh place of burial can be dererm ined in

several ways: in human bone from rhe individuals whose teerh are analysed; from rhe bones

of orher humans or archaeological fauna ar rhe sire; or from modern fauna in rhe viciniry.

This baseline informarion on isorope values across an area needs ro be obrained in order ro

make useful and reliable sratements about the origins of rhe archaeological remains under

srudy (Price

etal.

200 2; Frei Price 201 2).

Denmark is characrerised by a relatively young (geologically-speaking) and rather

homogenous 'basement' geology. Abour 50 per cenr of Denmark is composed of Lare

Creraceous-Early Terriary carbonare platforms, and rhe orher 50 per cenr by marine clastic

sediments, all covered by glaciogenic sediments deposired during rhe two last ice ages. The

Quarernary glaciogenic sedimenrs are composed of, among orher things, various weathered

Precambrian graniroids (gneiss and granire) from Norway and Sweden. Almost everywhere

in Denmark, glacial deposirs are the source of srronrium isotopes for plants, animals and

people. Th ere is very lirrle bedrock exposure anyw here.

Frei and Price (2012) reporred srronrium isorope rarios from samples of archaeological

fauna as well as m ode rn m ice and snails from D enm ark . In addirion rhey comp ared

rhese rarios wirh srronrium isorope median values from human enamel samples from

archaeological sires w ithi n D en m ar k. Th e faunal samples range from ^''Sr/̂ '̂ Sr = 0.7 07 17

ro 0.71185 wirh an average of 0.70918, and for rhe humans (including non-locals) values

range from

^ ^SÏF^SÎ =

0.7086 ro 0.7110, wirh an average of 0.7098 (Figure 6).

Frei an d Frei (2011 ) m easured ^''Sr/^^Sr in almosr 200 sam ples of D an ish surface wa ter an d

foun d similar resu lts. In all rhese darasers we obs erve a small difference in rhe baseline values

between the west (Jurland) and easr (Funen, Zealand and rhe sourhern islands) of Denmark.

Accordingly, tw o slighrly differenr baseline ranges are prop osed for rhe bioavailable s rron rium

isoropic values wirh in De nm ark . The western area ranges from ^^Sr/^''Sr = 0. 70 79 -0 .7 09 9,

whereas rhe range for rhe easrern area is defined as

^ ^SvñSr:

= 0 .7089-0 .7108 .

Toorh en amel from rhe mandibles of horses 1 and 3 from Illerup Aadal was raken for the

srronrium isorope analysis. Resuirs of

rh

analysis are presenred in Table I. These rwo values

clearly fall within rhe range for Denmark (between 0.70717 and 0.71185) and suggest rhar



Andres S Dobat et al.

0 . 7 1 1 . ro.712

Figure 6 Strontium isotope s mples

rom

auna and human tooth enamel from southernmost Scandinavia and dj cent

areas

the animals may have been of local origin within the region of Den m ark, south ern Sweden,

or northern Cermany.

Conclusions

The analysis of the four horses in the context of the major weapon sacrifice at IUerup Aadal

invites further discussion on three general topics: 1 the character and significance of the

sacrificial ritu als themselves; 2 the n atu re of cavalry and its use in Iron Age warfare; an d

finally 3 the old que stion of the origins of the armies represented by the offerings.

The sacrifice of the animals has to be seen in the light of the prominent role of horses in

sacrificial rituals th rou gh ou t t he entire Iron Age and in very different contex ts. O nl y rarely,

however, do we see such a detailed view of the chain of events that unfolded during the

sacrificial ceremony as in the case of IUerup Aadal. The osteological analysis suggests that

the h orse sacrifice was a highly d ram atic scene, in wh ich the creatures suffered a gruesom ely

violent death, involving splattering blood and the agonised screams of the poor animals

being cut down by several men with multiple weapons. Together with the shrill sound

of sharp metal on silver-plated ornaments, heavy axes splintering shields and lances, and

spears and swords being smashed to pieces, the scene must have provided a highly evocative

and dramatic spectacle, leaving a lasting impression in the shared memory of the sacrificing




com mu nity, and facilitating the com m em oratio n of the ritual and the battle which preceded

it. In this way the horses were mad e to take a leading part in wha t can be seen as a recreation

of the apocalyptic scenery of the battle, in which they had already played a crucial role.

The combined evidence of the skeletal material from the four horses and the tack that

was used to ride them provides us with a complex image of cavalry and its use in Iron Age

warfare. On the one hand, the extreme ornamentation of mountings, rivets and decorative

strap-ends on head gear, saddle straps and breastcoUars explicitly signalled the high social

status of the riders as well as their prominent role within the military hierarchy. On the

other hand, the horses also emerge as highly developed and effective war machines. Given

that they were likely to have been well trained and were experienced in wearing highly

specialised gear (enabling the rider to fight from horseback with his weapon in one hand,

while at the same time keeping full control of the animal, even in the stressful context of

a battlefield), the horses from Illerup Aadal would have spread fear and terror among any

opposing fighting lines.

With the ^^Sr/^'^Sr values below the baseline of strontium isotope values in both western

Norway and western or central Sweden, it is unlikely that the horses came from either of

those regions. They could, however, have come from the Viken area in southern Norway.

Here we find a very varied baseline, with the very lowest values on the regional scale being

similar to the values of the Illerup horses. O n the other h and , there is a good m atch between

the two Illerup horses and the ^^Sr/^' 'Sr baseline for southern Scandinavia. Values around

0.710 are commonly found in various places in Jutland, Zealand and Scania, suggesting

that the horses might well have been born and raised somewhere in the moraine landscapes

of modern-day Denmark. The data sample is not yet adequate, and the results are not

sufficiently clear to support a reconsideration of the earlier theories on the origin of the

army of Illerup Aadal A. Nonetheless, these new results open up new perspectives on this

question and on the background of the battle that preceded the sacrifice. Instead of an

'external' conflict involving military coalitions from across the Kattegat, the Illerup Aadal

sacrifice might just as well be seen as an expression of a more regional, internal conflict

between various southern Scandinavian groups. Further analyses have to be conducted,

however, to evaluate this hypothesis.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the two teviewets fot theit beneficial comments and ideas. We are grateful to Lats

Foged Thomsen fot his dtawings of hotses and hotse-geat. Sata Heil Jensen (Moesgâtd Museum) provided

valuable comm ents on the horse equipment ftom IUetup Aadal and its possible use.

eferen es

ANTHONY,

D , W , D,R,

BROWN,

2011, The second ty

ptoducts tevolution, hotse-riding and mounted

AMBROS, C , H , - H , MÜLLER, 1975, Zut Methode det

^ ^ ^ÜK .

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C o p y r i g h t o f A n t i q u i t y i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f A n t i q u i t y a n d i t s c o n t e n t m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r

e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n

p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r i n d i v i d u a l u s e .

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Iron Age Horse Burial