In a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers presented compelling evidence that pagan tribes in the Baltic region imported horses from Christianized Scandinavia for sacrificial rituals during the late medieval period. Horse sacrifices have historically been a significant aspect of funerary practices across Europe, dating from prehistoric times through the medieval era. Archaeological discoveries frequently reveal horse remains in burial contexts, often alongside human cremations or in separate pits.

Co-author Richard Madgwick, affiliated with Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology, and Religion, emphasized the broader implications of these findings. He noted, “Pagan Baltic tribes were clearly obtaining horses from their Christian neighbors overseas, even as they resisted conversion to Christianity. This re-examination of horse sacrifice underscores the intricate and evolving relationship between pagan and Christian communities during that period.”