15 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Horse cemetery in Westminster revealed as likely resting place for elite imported animals

Archaeological analysis of a medieval horse cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed the international scale of the horse-trading by the elite of Tudor England.

Horses owned by the elite in medieval England were probably imported from continental Europe, possibly traveling hundreds of kilometers, according to tooth analysis of horses.

Commercial excavators discovered an unusually large horse burial site in central London during the 1990s. Seventy whole or partial horse remains have been found at the location, which is now known as the Elverton Street cemetery, during subsequent digs. Some of the graves have been dated between 1425 and 1517, but the cemetery may have been used for a longer period.

The horse burial site is located outside the walls of the ancient city of London, but close to the royal palace complex at Westminster, where jousting and stables were known to have been common.

Medieval English knights donned armor, mounted highly trained horses, and jousted with long lances in spectacular ritual combats. But the steeds used in these contests weren’t all home-grown, a new study finds.

The research, led by the University of Exeter, is published in Science Advances.

Location of the Elverton Street horse cemetery in late medieval London. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj578
Location of the Elverton Street horse cemetery in late medieval London. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj578

These animals—akin to modern supercars—were sourced from a variety of locations across Europe specifically for their height and strength and imported for use in jousting tournaments and as status symbols of 14th- to 16th-century life. They include three of the tallest animals known from late medieval England, standing up to 1.6 meters or 15.3 hands high, which while quite small by modern standards would have been very impressive for their day.

An analysis of dozens of medieval horses buried reveals a far-flung European horse trading network, with some of the animals coming from as far away as northern Italy. The findings, experts say, open a new window into the life of medieval English elites and their favorite hobby.

“The finest medieval horses were like modern supercars—inordinately expensive and finely tuned vehicles that proclaimed their owner’s status,” said Professor Oliver Creighton, a medieval specialist at the University of Exeter and part of the research team.

Historical documents show England’s medieval elite took great interest in horses. A record of royal horses called the Equitium Regis, for example, lists hundreds of horses belonging to the royal family in the late 13th and early 14th century C.E., often by name and sometimes geographic origin.

Based on such written evidence, historians assumed England’s elite spent fortunes on the animals and sometimes imported them from Spain and Italy at great cost. But the archaeological record offered little corroboration, because horse remains from the medieval period are very rare.

“And at Elverton Street, our research team seem to have found evidence for horses used in jousting—the sport of kings, in which riders showcased their fighting skills and horsemanship on elite mounts,” said Professor Oliver Creighton.

Using a laser, researchers analyzed the chemistry of horse teeth to determine their origins.Photo: ALEX PRYOR
Using a laser, researchers analyzed the chemistry of horse teeth to determine their origins.Photo: ALEX PRYOR

“The new findings provide a tangible archaeological signature of this trade, emphasizing its international scale. It is apparent that the medieval London elite was explicitly targeting the highest quality horses they could find at a European scale,” added Professor Oliver Creighton.

In the first experiment of its kind to be conducted on medieval horse remains, the researchers took 22 molar teeth from 15 individual animals and drilled out portions of the enamel for isotope analysis.

By measuring isotope ratios of the elements strontium, oxygen and carbon present within the teeth and comparing the results with known ranges in different geographies, the team was able to identify the potential origin of each horse—and accurately rule out others, including prime European horse-breeding centers such as Spain and southern Italy.

Dr. Alex Pryor said that at least half of the horses had diverse international origins, possibly Scandinavia, the Alps, and other northern and eastern European locations. The results, the researchers conclude, were consistent with the breeding patterns of royal stud farms, where horses would reside until their second or third year before they would either be broken and trained or sent elsewhere to be sold.

Physical analysis of the teeth revealed wear suggestive of heavy use of a curb bit, often employed with elite animals, especially those groomed for war and tournaments after the 14th century.

Bit wear on two of the mares also suggested they were used under saddle or in harness and for breeding. An analysis of the skeletons revealed many of them to be well above average size, with several instances of fused lower thoracic and lumbar vertebrae indicative of a life of riding and hard work.

University of Exeter

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj578

Cover Photo: Jousting knights, an illustration from an English manuscript, 15th century

Related Articles

Israeli researchers create AI to translate ancient cuneiform Akkadian texts

4 May 2023

4 May 2023

Israeli experts have created a program to translate an ancient language that is difficult to decipher, allowing automatic and accurate...

Statue Head of Goddess Tyche Discovered in Bulgaria

8 December 2024

8 December 2024

A remarkably crafted head of a large statue of the Greek goddess Tyche was recently unearthed during the excavations of...

Byzantine monk chained with iron rings unearthed near Jerusalem

4 January 2023

4 January 2023

A skeleton chained with iron rings was discovered at Khirbat el-Masani, about four kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, along the ancient...

Stone Age Loved to Dance to the Rhythm of the Elk Tooth Rattles

4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Thousands of years ago, people danced frequently and to the rhythm. This is the conclusion of the discovery of elk...

A Large Roman Building Discovered on the Limmat

13 April 2024

13 April 2024

In the Steinacher area (Canton of Aargau) on the Limmat there was a Roman settlement that was significantly larger than...

Britain’s first Roman funerary bed is discovered in central London after 2,000 years

7 February 2024

7 February 2024

Archaeologists excavating a construction site in London have unearthed the first Roman “flat-packed” funerary furniture – a fully intact Roman...

Skeleton Of “Spanish Monk” in Palace of Cortés Turns Out To Be An Aztec Woman

26 January 2024

26 January 2024

Recent research at the Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, Mexico, has revealed a grave historical error. For 50 years, it...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

Restoration Complete: Athena Temple in Side Reopens to the Public

24 March 2025

24 March 2025

The Athena Temple, once overshadowed by the more prominent Temple of Apollo, has emerged as a significant historical and cultural...

Archaeologists found 5 unique sculptures representing the Kakatiya art style in Siddipet

19 July 2021

19 July 2021

13th-century statues were found near a temple tank in the Siddipet district in the northern province of Telangana, India. On...

Underneath an Illegal Excavation House, a Subterranean City Is Revealed!

25 June 2021

25 June 2021

Upon the information that illegal excavations were carried out in a house in the İscehisar district of Afyonkarahisar in western...

Ancient settlements that challenge traditional thinking “Karahantepe and Taş Tepeler”

5 December 2021

5 December 2021

After Göbeklitepe in Şanlıurfa, which sheds light on 12,000 years ago in human history and is considered one of the...

Researchers Found Evidence in Ethiopia of a Human Population that Survived the Eruption of the Toba Supervolcano 74,000 Years Ago

22 March 2024

22 March 2024

Researchers working in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula have uncovered evidence showing how Middle Stone...

The two sarcophagi discovered beneath Notre Dame start to reveal their secrets

12 December 2022

12 December 2022

The owner of one of the two sarcophagi that were found in an excavation at the intersection of Notre Dame...

Czech archaeologists discovered a unique bronze belt buckle dating back to the eighth century

12 December 2023

12 December 2023

Czech archaeologists have unearthed a bronze belt buckle from the early Middle Ages, depicting a snake devouring a frog-like creature....