Klaipėdos universitetas

In Oberhof (Aukštkiemiai, western Lithuania) all forms of horse burials or offerings can be found: complete horses, horse skulls or the skull and the limbs. In every case where a description is preserved the horse parts were placed to the left of all other items or to the left of the human body, which might be a sign that the horse was used for riding. Horse remains, bridle bits or spurs usually occur in men’s burials that contain weapons. In the community of Oberhof it was not necessary to be on top of the military hierarchy to be a rider or to receive riding gear as grave goods. On the other hand bridles, spurs or horse parts are found quite often in very well furnished graves. So even if theses offerings are often connected with warriors, it has to be considered that they might be not only an indicator for the doubtlessly existing cavalry but also for different social phenomena.

During the Roman period the Bogaczewo Culture cemeteries in Masuria included horse graves. The features often contained bits, whereas other parts of horse tack were found rarely. The horse graves discussed in the paper cannot be unequivocally linked to human burials - possibly horsemen’s graves, as the latter had been situated shallowly under the surface, which led to their damage.

The paper presents the problem of archaeological, archaeozoological and anthropological interpretations of horse burials from the Roman Period cemeteries from the Bogaczewo Culture (Masurian Lakeland) territory. It is presented on the basis of the multidisciplinary research of the cemetery in Paprotki Kolonia located in the heart of Bogaczewo Culture territory.