In 1919, an ancient horse cemetery was discovered at the site of El-Kurru in modern-day Sudan. Of the 24 burial pits, four were found to have nearly complete horse skeletons. Two of these skeletons, labeled Ku. 211 and Ku. 212, were transported to Harvard University, where they are being studied by ASPR affiliate Dr. Shayla Monroe. Both horses were likely male, and Ku. 211 died as an older adult and displayed signs of osteoporosis (common in old age), while Ku. 212 died at a younger age (but was still an adult). The Ku. 212 skeleton had certain pathologies that are commonly found in workhorses, and their wide, flat feet suggest that they were intentionally bred. The El-Kurru cemetery where the horses were found is the cemetery of the Kushite rulers who reigned between 735-656 B.C.E. (25th Dynasty).
In the Zooarchaeology Lab at the Peabody Museum, Dr. Monroe will conduct stable isotope analysis on the horses’ teeth in an effort to address larger questions about the spread of the horse throughout Africa. Once horses became accessible in the continent, they had the ability to shift political and social dynamics; for example, in early medieval times and late antique Africa, horses shaped urbanism by compelling people to live in larger settlements, which are more easily defensible against people on horseback. Starting around the 6th century, kingdoms in Sudan were primarily built on horsepower, and Dr. Monroe’s research has the ability to shed light on how this came to be