Het Paard van Cerchiara

In april 2011, a horse figurine was found in a small test pit at the Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age site T228 in the municipality of Cerchiara di Calabria (southern Italy). The horse has a vessel on its back, holes in its feet and nose, and protogeometric painted decorations which dates it to 1050-900 BC. Similar figurines are known from later (child) burials in southern Italy, Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Although the dimensions of the test pit do not permit a good interpretation of the object’s context, associated finds suggest that site T228 is a rural settlement. Its context and date make the Horse of Cerchiara stand out from other Mediterranean horse figurines