Horses in Lithuania in the Late Roman–Medieval period (3rd-14th C AD) burial sites: updates on sze, age and dating

ENThe tradition of burying horses in Lithuania lasted from the Early Roman period until the late 14th C AD. It was the longest-lasting custom in Europe, which has left about 2000 known horse burials. This paper publishes the osteometric data and age of horses found in Lithuanian cemeteries and castles of the 3rd–14th C AD, over 200 individuals in total. These are the remains of all the horses still stored in Lithuanian institutions. The paper discusses the dynamics of horse body size in order to test previously suggested hypotheses regarding the relationship between large horse body size and its military use, possibly non-local breed, and high social status of the owner. Moreover, we are publishing the AMS 14C dates of 13 horses previously assigned to the Migration period. The research results corrected the existing chronology. The abundant data also allowed an assessment of the development of the size and age of the horses in Lithuania between the 3rd and 14th C AD. Osteometric analyses have shown that Late Roman–post-Migration-period horses were unusually large compared to the Viking and medieval horses in Lithuania. Meanwhile, we suggest that the semi-slender-legged 118–125-cm-tall horse, which predominated in the Viking period, is the most consistent with the local horse type. In general, the horses in Lithuania in the 3rd–11th C AD were small compared to those in Central and Western Europe or Scandinavia. More significant changes can be observed in the Middle Ages. In the 12–14th C AD, there was a much greater variety of horses and the expansion of taller (140–150 cm) individuals. However, the continued abundance of small horses in the medieval times, found buried with saddles and other equipment, allows one to renew the debate on the formation of the cavalry, the tactics of combat, and the social composition of horsemen in Lithuania. Keywords: horse; biometry; south-eastern Baltic; Migration period; Viking period; medieval.

• Between Curonia and Bavaria. Animal-head brooches resulting from long-distance connections during Migration Period / Anna Bitner-Wróblewska. Archaeologia Baltica. 2000, t. 4, p. 181-197.
• Comb ware culture in Lithuania: new evidence from Šventoji 43 / Gytis Piličiauskas, Dalia Kisielienė, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Likas Gaižauskas. Algirdas Kalinauskas. Lietuvos archeologija. 2019, t. 45, p. 67-103.
• East Lithuanian barrows - burial in the cradle of Lithuanian tribes / Laurynas Kurila. Hundred years of archaeological discoveries in Lithuania / edited by Gintautas Zabiela, Zenonas Baubonis, Eglė Marcinkevičiūtė. Vilnius: Lietuvos archeologijos draugija, 2016. P. 192-207.
• Human-horse burials in Lithuania in the late second to seventh century AD : a multidisciplinary approach / Audronė Bliujienė, Miglė Stančikaitė, Giedrė Piličiauskienė, Jonas Mažeika, Donatas Butkus. European journal of archaeology. 2017, vol. 20, no. 4, p. 682-709.
• Kada lietuviai pradėjo kautis raiti? / Manvydas Vitkūnas. Lituanistica. 2011, Nr. 1, p. 54-65.
• Kernavė - litewska Troja: katalog wystawy ze zbiorów Państwowego Muzeum-Rezerwatu Archeologii i Historii w Kernavė, Litwa / opracowanie redakcyjne katalogu. Warszawa : Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne, 2002. 216 p.
• Marvelė. Bd. 2, Ein Bestattungsplatz mit Pferdegräben Mindaugas Bertašius. Kaunas : Kauno technologijos universitetas, 2009. 390 p.
• Paduobė - Šaltaliūnė barrow cemetery III / Valdas Steponaitis. Archaeological investigations in independent Lithuania (1990-2010) / edited by Gintautas Zabiela, Zenonas Baubonis, Eglė Marcinkevičiūtė. Vilnius: Society of the Lithuanian Archaeology, 2012. P. 114-121.
• Priešistorinė Marvelės bendruomenė: kultūrinės ir socialinės raidos aspektai / Mindaugas Bertašius. Kaunas : Technologija, 2018. 334 p.
• Symbolic horse burials in the iron age of east Lithuania / Laurynas Kurila. Archaeologia Baltica. 2009, t. 11, p. 242-253.
• The Behaviour of horses in Lithuanian narrative folklore / Giedrė Šukytė. Archaeologia Baltica. 2009, t. 11, p. 357-363.
• The First data on the human diet in Late Roman and Early Migration period western Lithuania: evidence from stable isotope, archaebotanical and zooarchaeological analyses / Audronė Bliujienė, Raminta Skipitytė, Andrius Garbaras, Žydrūnė Miliauskienė, Justina Šapolaitė, Žilvinas Ežerinskis, Justinas Čeponkus, Ieva Masiulienė, Edvardas Simčenka, Karolis Minkevičius, Giedrė Piličiauskienė. Journal of archaeological science: reports. 2020, 33, 102545, p. 1-13.
• The Image of the horse in poetic texts of lithuanian folk songs / Rimantas Sliužinskas. Archaeologia Baltica. 2009, t. 11, p. 364-373.
• Viduramžių Klaipėda : miestas ir pilis, archeologija ir istorija : [Klaipėdai - 750] / Vladas Žulkus. Vilnius : Žara, 2002. 164 p.
• Vidurio Lietuva VIII-XII amžiais : disertacija / Mindaugas Bertašius. Vilnius, 1998. [157] lap.
• Viking age horse graves from Kaunas region (Middle Lithuania) / M. Bertašius and L. Daugnora. International journal of osteoarchaeology. 2001, Vol. 11, iss. 6, p. 387-399.
• Vilniaus pilių fauna: nuo kepsnio iki draugo.. Vilnius : Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2018. 323 p.
• Wealthy horsemen in the remote and tenebrous forests of east Lithuania during the migration period / Audronė Bliujienė and Valdas Steponaitis. Archaeologia Baltica. 2009, t. 11, p. 185-205.