Earliest Evidence of Horses in Bronze Age Sicily Reveals Rituals and Community Life!
Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery that is reshaping our understanding of prehistoric Sicily. New research shows that horses were present on the island almost a thousand years earlier than previously thought, and that they played a central role not only in diet, but also in ritual and community life.
Until recently, scholars believed that horses only reached Sicily in the early first millennium BCE. However, a team led by Professor Davide Tanasi of the University of South Florida has pushed that date back to the Early Bronze Age, around the third millennium BCE.
The findings were published in PLOS One and come from residue analysis of pottery excavated nearly 20 years ago at a settlement on Polizzello Mountain, in central Sicily. The pottery, pitchers, cups and a large pedestal basin, had originally been linked to communal rituals, but at the time technology wasn’t advanced enough to identify organic traces.
Photo Credit: D. Tanasi et al., PloS One (2025)
Fast forward to 2024, and Tanasi’s team applied state-of-the-art proteomic and lipidomic analysis. The results were striking: almost half the pottery fragments still held remnants of horse blood and fat. One protein in particular, equine serum albumin, offered definitive proof of horse-derived products. Further lipid analysis suggested that the meat was cooked, most likely stewed, and eaten during ceremonial gatherings.
The discovery goes far beyond diet. Archaeologists now believe that horses held symbolic meaning within Bronze Age Sicilian rituals. The presence of a terracotta phallus among the finds supports the interpretation of fertility rites. The large basin appears to have been used as the focal point of group ceremonies, where horse-based meals may have been consumed alongside prayers, chanting, and dancing.
The site itself tells a story of symbolism. Its rock enclosure, carved boulder niche, and carefully placed pottery suggest a sacred space, charged with ritual significance. What’s more, traces of ceremonial activity continued there for centuries, as later Iron Age and Archaic structures at Polizzello also show evidence of ritual use.
The implications are profound. Instead of being absent from early Sicilian life, horses were deliberately integrated into daily existence and ritual practices centuries earlier than assumed. Some scholars suggest the animals may have been imported from mainland Italy, where domestication was already established, before being absorbed into Sicilian traditions.
Adding to the cultural picture, Polizzello is also the site where the oldest known depiction of a mounted warrior in Sicilian art was discovered, dating to the seventh century BCE. This hints at a long-lasting cultural memory that tied horses to identity, status, and symbolism.
Beyond rewriting Sicilian prehistory, this research highlights how new biomolecular techniques can shed light on aspects of ancient life that were once invisible. By combining archaeology with cutting-edge science, Tanasi’s team has revealed not just what people ate, but how they wove animals, rituals, and symbolism into the fabric of their society.
The horse, it seems, was far more than a beast of burden in Bronze Age Sicily – it was a creature at the very heart of community and ceremony.