Ancient decapitated horse discovered next to rider in cemetery for elite warriors

A team of archeologists has discovered a decapitated horse next to its rider and a trove of jewelry and weapons in a cemetery where elite Merovingian nobles and warriors were buried.

The Merovingians were a Frankish dynasty that ruled from the middle of the 5th century until 751. Their kingdom included all Franks, which were Germanic tribes, and the northern Gaulish Romans. It grew, as the Roman Empire crumbled, to encompass much of modern-day France, stretching eastward into what are now parts of Germany and Switzerland.

The archeologists had been working in the town of Knittlingen, in the southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, examining more than 110 graves in a cemetery reserved for members of the local Merovingian elite.

“The comparatively rich burials in the second half of the sixth century are noteworthy in Knittlingen,” the Regional Council of Stuttgart, which has been overseeing excavations at the dig site since August, said in a statement.


https://krcgtv.com/news/offbeat/ancient-decapitated-horse-discovered-next-to-rider-in-cemetery-for-elite-warriors