Merry Xmas! They Found A 2000 Y.O. Horse With Saddle Still Attached In Pompeii

It’s 3pm on Christmas Day, so chances are you’re either napping on the couch, or pleasantly buzzed and processing vast quantities of turkey and glazed ham. If it’s the latter, here’s my present to you, my friend: archaeologists have found a remarkably well-preserved horse skeleton at Pompeii which still has its saddle attached.

Have a peek:

The horse, which is described as one of “rare importance,” was found with a bunch of other remains at the tantalisingly-named Villa of the Mysteries on the outskirts of Pompeii. Like many of the other remains, it was preserved under tonnes of volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted.

It’s believed the horse, like the building it was located in, belonged to a high-ranking military figure or general. It was likely being prepared for an escape when it was ensnared by the hot, fast-moving cloud of volcanic ash which killed everyone else in Pompeii.

In addition to the saddle and the harness, fragments of wooden and bronze trimming were also recovered with the horse.

Photos: Archaeologists uncover evidence of 2,000-year-old horse bodies in Pompeii, Japan’s emperor celebrates his birthday, and more https://t.co/em63eB54bg

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 24, 2018

Archaeologists have been digging up the Villa of the Mysteries since 1909, but it sure looks like there’s still a bunch of stuff to find.

Massimo Osanna, the director of Pompeii’s archaeological park, said it was likely the animal met a “fierce and terrible end,” which I assume is just the kind of badass way Italian archaeologists talk about anything historical.