An archaeological dig in France uncovered over two dozen dead horses and left researchers with a puzzling mystery. The excavation, located in Villedieu-sur-Indre in Central France , uncovered several buildings, pits, ditches and even a pathway from the early Middle Ages, according to a news release from the country's National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research . The finds included nine pits containing the remains of horses.
Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to determine that the horses lived between 100 BC to 100 AD, a span of about 200 years. Just two of the pits have been fully excavated so far. In one pit, the horses were all found lying on their right sides, with their heads to the south, according to the news release.
The animals were "carefully placed in the pit and organized in two rows and on two levels," and evidence shows that the horses were "buried simultaneously, very quickly after their death." All the horses were small males, over four years old and likely Gallic livestock. View of a horse storage pit and study of the arrangement of the horses.
François Goulin, INRAP The second pit contains just two horses, but they were buried the same way as the others. Another pit was found to contain two adult dogs, positioned and "carefully placed" in the same fashion, the news statement said, but researchers don't know what -- if anything - the canine inclusion signifies. While other pits have yet to be excavated fully, researchers have found remains .
