Thousand-year-old Lombard warrior skeleton

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

Italian archaeologists have discovered a perfectly preserved skeleton of a 1400-year-old Lombard warrior, buried with his horse.

The skeleton, which was found in a park at Testona, near Turin, is of a 25-year-old Lombard who died of a fever. Unusually, his horse was buried alongside him.

 

"This is a very rare find," said Gabriella Pant

[docoflove1974]

So since this is quite unusual, would this suggest that the warrior was a member of the elite? Say, was the son of a chieftain?

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

So since this is quite unusual, would this suggest that the warrior was a member of the elite? Say, was the son of a chieftain?

 

I would probably say so. Other skeletons have been found with just the head of his horse next to him, so for the Lombard's to go to so much trouble in burying the whole horse makes you think that he may have been a quite important figure. Maybe a famous warrior and his war horse who were renowned for their courage and bravery in battle (think Alexander and Bucephalus??) and so to honour them they buried them together.???

[DecimusCaesar]

To own a horse and have that amount of weapons he must have been a nobleman. Whether he was an important member of the Lombard elite is something we will perhaps never know, unless his skelton shows some signs of his life.