Horse burial is the practice of burying a horse as part of the ritual of human burial, and is found among many Indo-European speaking peoples and others, including Chinese and Turkic peoples. The act indicates the high value placed on horses in the particular cultures and provides evidence of the migration of peoples with a horse culture. Human burials that contain other livestock are rare; in Britain, for example, 31 horse burials have been discovered but only one cow burial, unique in Europe. This process of horse burial is part of a wider tradition of horse sacrifice. An associated ritual is that of chariot burial, in which an entire chariot, with or without a horse, is buried with a dead person.
Mass horse burial for Duke Jing of Qi (reigned 547–490 BCE) of Spring and Autumn period China
Sketch plan of the kurgan burial at Kostromskaya in southern Russia
The Wulfsen horse burial shown in situ
Remains of the horse burial in Mound 17, Sutton Hoo
Chariot burials are tombs in which the deceased was buried together with their chariot, usually including their horses and other possessions. An instance of a person being buried with their horse is called horse burial.
Drawing of the La Gorge-Meillet burial; the chariot-driver was interred above his master.
Another French burial