At Video-sur-Indre, in central France between Paris and Bordeaux, archaeologists discovered graves containing the skeletons of 28 horses. They are all young stallions about 6 years old and were buried shortly after their death.

The horses were carefully buried in two rows, all placed on their right sides with their heads facing south. Archaeologists made this discovery while unearthing medieval ruins dating back to the year 500.

Carbon dating has determined that the horses were buried 2,000 years ago. Researchers believe that the relatively small horses, just over a meter tall, may have been used in the Gallic War, in which Julius Caesar conquered what is now France and Belgium in several campaigns between 58 and 51 BC, destroying much of the indigenous Celtic population.

The site is located in a place where the Roman army is known to have fought a battle against the Gauls.

It is not clear who owned the horses and how they died. “We know that the Gauls rode these types of horses. But the Roman auxiliaries, too, used them,” the archaeologists said in a press release.

The remains of two dogs were also found near the grave, with their heads facing west. Horse bones are examined to see if they died in battle or were sacrificed.

The discovery is reminiscent of the excavations at Puy-de-Dôme in 2002, when the grave of eight Celtic warriors and their horses was discovered. Animals also lie on the right side.