Horses for
the Pharao
Horses played an important role in Pi-Ramesse. They were mainly used as draft animals for wagons. Archaeological evidence of their particular importance can be found in various areas of the city.
Small horses, great efforts
Horses were probably first brought to Egypt from Western Asia during the period of the Hyksos, who ruled Egypt’s north from 1700 to 1550 BCE. The animals are not only attested in pictorial and textual sources, but archaeologically too, because stables and burials have been excavated.
During the New Kingdom, Egyptian horses were relatively small, with a size comparable to modern mules. They were primarily used to pull chariots, because horse riding was comparatively uncommon.
Toilets for Horses
Portable chariots
Bronze Age high-tech
Chariot troops represented the elite unit of the army throughout the New Kingdom. The king himself was often depicted as a victorious commander on a chariot, so it's no wonder that chariots made their way into the burial equipment of King Tutankhamun. Their complex design required a variety of precious raw materials, such as exotic wood, metal, and leather.
Weighing only around 30 kg, Egyptian chariots were extremely light – people or animals could even carry them on their backs when travelling over rugged terrain. During battle, chariots were ridden by at least two people: a charioteer and an archer. In contrast, Hittite chariots were much more massive and carried a team of three people: the charioteer, a person holding a shield, and one further soldier.
Horses for the pharaoh’s victory
Ramesses II and his cavalry (upper and lower image border) at the Battle of Kadesh. A relief from Luxor Temple. Drawing: James H. Breasted, in J. H. Breasted, The Battle of Kadesh: A Study in the Earliest Known Military Strategy (Chicago, Ill. 1903), Pl. 3.
The Egyptian army had a high demand for horses. The account of the Battle of Qadesh, fought in modern Syria, implies that Ramesses brought up to 2,500 chariots on his campaign against the Hittites. As each chariot was pulled by two horses, this means that the king needed at least 5,000 horses.
Plan of the main walls of the royal stables in Pi-Ramesse. Drawing: Edgar B. Pusch/Anja Herold/Jan Lindemann, Editing: Kim-Denise Uhe.
© Qantir/Pi-Ramesse Project.
After the battle, the king returned to Pi-Ramesse, which texts describe as the “headquarter of your chariotry”. As the excavated stables could not have accommodated such a large number of horses, the city must have had additional facilities.
Relief showing court ladies taking part in a royal procession. Reign of Akhenaten. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art (1985.328.16).
© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of Norbert Schimmel, 1985.
A huge building, most likely a palace, was located a couple of hundred metres from the stables. If this interpretation is correct, the horses used by the king and his court might have been kept there. These horses were also used by the king and his family during ceremonies in the city.
Parts of a chariot: Yoke saddle knobs made of limestone with a bronze pin (left) (FZN 87/1379; 84/1200b,0001; 87/0038). Photo: Axel Krause.
© Qantir/Pi-Ramesse-Project.
No traces of chariots were discovered within the stables themselves, but workshops in which chariots might have been constructed were found a couple of hundred meters to the west. Among the finds were a hub cap, a linchpin, and various knobs and finials made of stone.
Snaffle bit (FZN 86/0281). Photo: Axel Krause. © Qantir/Pi-Ramesse Project.
Alongside the construction of chariots, finds, such as a horse bit, point towards the production of horse equipment.
Excavations in the Storeroom:
A Door Lintel from the Royal Horse Stables
Many of the objects found during the excavations in Qantir/Pi-Ramesse are first put into the storerooms, where they are kept safe and examined. Prof. Dr. Alexandra Verbovsek, Director of the Qantir/Pi-Ramesse Project, presents a fragmented door lintel from the royal horse stables, which will be reconstructed and published.
3000-year-old hoofprints
Another find throws even more light on how horses were kept at Pi-Ramesse. Not far from the workshops, horses ran around freely in a courtyard.
About 3,300 years ago, after a rain shower, these horses left hoofprints in the soft soil. To dry the ground, a layer of sand was put on top of the muddy soil, causing the prints to be preserved.
Pharaoh’s Horse Stables in LEGO Bricks
The Roemer- and Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim displays a model of a horse stable, which was designed based on a royal stable excavated in Pi-Ramesse. Using the model, Prof. Regine Schulz, the museum's scientific director, shows how we can imagine life with horses at Pharaoh’s court.
MAP
AN XXL CITY
CHRONICLE OF A CITY
A CITY OF TECHNOLOGIES
HORSES FOR THE PHARAO
PI-RAMESSE AROUND THE WORLD
FOR KIDS