2,000 years after the Vesuvius volcano disaster (in present-day Italy) turned two ancient Roman cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, into catastrophic mᴀss graves, a war horse has revealed more about the disaster and its owner, through its almost unbelievably intact body.
The stone horse stands out among the real horses that are only skeletons
The strangest thing is that this horse is made entirely of stone, but archaeologists claim that it was once a real horse, literally petrified!
In archaeology, petrification is the name given to a process in which organic matter is exposed to minerals over a long period of time, gradually turning into stone. The original material is gradually replaced and becomes immortal as the void spaces are gradually filled with minerals. It can be understood as a combination of the two processes of permutation and replacement.
The horse is a real horse but has been literally petrified.
The excavated stone horse is an exact replica of the original specimen, down to the microscopic level.
According to archaeologist Mᴀssimo Osanna, head of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, this horse died alongside 2-3 other horses, but unfortunately his friends were not petrified and only bones remained. This “war horse catacomb” was once a beautiful stable, belonging to a wealthy villa in Pompeii, sharing the tragic fate of many people and animals living in the two prosperous cities mentioned above.
The remains of the stone horse’s fellow have disintegrated after 2,000 years
The horses were majestic and huge when alive
According to the analysis, these horses are all majestic and tall “warriors” and are very well cared for.
The lava and toxic gases caused the horse to die very suddenly and it was immediately encased in a sealed coffin of ash, which may have been why it was petrified. It still wore its luxurious harness with leather straps and intricate bronze detailing, with the leather on the harness and straps still surprisingly retaining the softness of the tissue
