Paardenrookvlees uit Kesteren (Gld.)

Samenvatting

During an archaeological survey at Kesteren-Craaienhof more than 300 animal remains were found, coming from different periods. About half of the bones could be dated, most of them coming from the Roman period. The remaining bones could be dated either in the Late Iron Age and/or Roman Period or the Late Middle Ages. Among the bones a shoulder blade of horse was found with remarkable traces of butchering, clearly indicating that the meat had been smoked for consumption. In general, horse bones with butchering traces indicating human consumption are rare, especially during the Roman period (in the Roman military world the eating of horse meat was even considered taboo). The fact that the shoulder blade dates from the Roman period (14C date 1945 ± 40 BP), together with clear indications of the presence at Kesteren-Craaienhof of a Roman cavalry division (ala), makes it a unique find, indicating a strongly deviating consumption pattern.