Conference Presentations by Helene Benkert
Abstract for MonBones International Conference, 2024
1st ICAZ MWG meeting, Bergen, Norway, 2022
Panel: “Borders and Boundaries in the Archaeology of the Medieval Horse”, organized by Timothy Da... more Panel: “Borders and Boundaries in the Archaeology of the Medieval Horse”, organized by Timothy Dawson and Anastasija Ropa.
International workshop: "Horses Across Borders" (6 - 13 August 2020), Organized and chaired by An... more International workshop: "Horses Across Borders" (6 - 13 August 2020), Organized and chaired by Anastasija Ropa - Latvijas Sporta pedagoģijas akadēmija, Latvia.
EAA Budapest, 2022
Despite its importance for the medieval world, archaeological research has so far generally negle... more Despite its importance for the medieval world, archaeological research has so far generally neglected the horse. Though usually only found in relatively small numbers, horse remains are present on the vast majority of medieval sites in Europe and present a valuable tool to study past human-animal relationships as well as many other aspects of human society, such as warfare, status and identity. This paper presents the findings from my PhD project. Using traditional zooarchaeological techniques, it examines the available biometrical data of horse remains from European sites, covering the time between the 8th and 16th centuries, and explores morphometric changes through time and space. A special focus is on the question whether it is possible to detect different morphological types, and warhorses in particular, in the faunal record. Drawing on other lines of evidence, studied as part of the Warhorse Project, it discusses what horses looked like in the Middle Ages and how they were likely used. Such insights can be used to better understand the impact of horses on society in the medieval period and beyond.
Poster for PZAF 2019, Yerevan, Armenia, 2019
The medieval horse was the most characteristic animal of the Middle Ages. But while the history o... more The medieval horse was the most characteristic animal of the Middle Ages. But while the history of warhorses has been intensively studied by historians, the archaeological evidence is often overlooked, despite its potential to generate new information and to transform knowledge. We will collect, collate, analyse and integrate a variety of sources, ranging from material culture and iconography to zooarchaeology and genetics, to explore medieval warhorses, their development, training, appearance, and by extension their military and social roles.
Teaching Documents by Helene Benkert
An intensive two-day course for professionals, students, and enthusiasts of bioarchaeology and fo... more An intensive two-day course for professionals, students, and enthusiasts of bioarchaeology and forensic science. This short course will focus on a comparison between human and other animal remains. By using both macro-and microscopic analyses along with insights into biomolecular investigations, the course will illustrate some basic tools used to distinguish human remains from those of other animals. Different methodologies and research approaches that characterise the different disciplines of human osteoarchaeology, zooarchaeology and forensic science will be discussed. This multidisciplinary approach will make use of short lectures, hands-on activities, and case studies.
Animal bones and teeth are among the most common remains found on archaeological sites. The Unive... more Animal bones and teeth are among the most common remains found on archaeological sites. The University of Sheffield Zooarchaeology short course uses practical activities, short lectures, and discussions to provide insight into the theory and methods that are used to understand animal bones in archaeology.
Understanding Zooarchaeology is a short course series run by the Zooarchaeology Team at the Unive... more Understanding Zooarchaeology is a short course series run by the Zooarchaeology Team at the University of Sheffield. The courses are ideal for beginners and professionals alike and aim to provide a fundamental understanding of faunal remains as well as zooarchaeological practices. Classes are highly practical and take place in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Understanding Zooarchaeology is a short course series run by the Zooarchaeology Team at the Unive... more Understanding Zooarchaeology is a short course series run by the Zooarchaeology Team at the University of Sheffield. The courses are ideal for beginners and professionals alike and aim to provide a fundamental understanding of faunal remains as well as zooarchaeological practices. Classes are highly practical and take place in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Book Reviews by Helene Benkert
Book review in Archäologische Informationen (online)
Papers by Helene Benkert
Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History, 2021
The warhorse is arguably the most characteristic animal of the English Middle Ages. But while the... more The warhorse is arguably the most characteristic animal of the English Middle Ages. But while the development and military uses of warhorses have been intensively studied by historians, the archaeological evidence is too often dispersed, overlooked or undervalued. Instead, we argue that to fully understand the cultural significance and functional role of the medieval warhorse, a systematic study of the full range of archaeological evidence for warhorses (and horses more generally) from medieval England is necessary. This requires engagement with material evidence at a wide variety of scales — from individual artefacts through to excavated assemblages and landscape-wide distributions — dating between the late Saxon and Tudor period (c. AD 800–1600). We present here a case study of our interdisciplinary engaged research design focusing upon an important English royal stud site at Odiham in Hampshire. This brings together several fields of study, including (zoo)archaeology, history, la...
Cheiron: The International Journal of Equine and Equestrian History, 2021
The warhorse is arguably the most characteristic animal of the English Middle Ages. But while the... more The warhorse is arguably the most characteristic animal of the English Middle Ages. But while the development and military uses of warhorses have been intensively studied by historians, the archaeological evidence is too often dispersed, overlooked or undervalued. Instead, we argue that to fully understand the cultural significance and functional role of the medieval warhorse, a systematic study of the full range of archaeological evidence for warhorses (and horses more generally) from medieval England is necessary. This requires engagement with material evidence at a wide variety of scales-from individual artefacts through to excavated assemblages and landscape-wide distributions-dating between the late Saxon and Tudor period (c. AD 800-1600). We present here a case study of our interdisciplinary engaged research design focusing upon an important English royal stud site at Odiham in Hampshire. This brings together several fields of study, including (zoo)archaeology, history, landscape survey, and material culture studies to produce new understandings about a beast that was an unmistakable symbol of social status and a decisive weapon on the battlefield.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2021
Popular culture presents a deep-rooted perception of medieval warhorses as massive and powerful m... more Popular culture presents a deep-rooted perception of medieval warhorses as massive and powerful mounts, but medieval textual and iconographic evidence remains highly debated. Furthermore, identifying warhorses in the zooarchaeological record is challenging due to both a paucity of horse remains relative to other domesticates, and the tendency of researchers to focus on osteological size, which makes it difficult to reconstruct in-life usage of horses and activity related changes. This paper presents the largest zooarchaeological dataset of English horse bones (n = 1964) from 171 unique archaeological sites dating between AD 300 and 1650. Using this dataset alongside a modern comparative sample of known equids (n = 490), we examine trends in size and shape to explore how the skeletal conformation of horses changed through time and reflected their domestic, elite and military roles. In addition to evidencing the generally small stature of medieval horses relative to both earlier and l...
Drafts by Helene Benkert
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Conference Presentations by Helene Benkert
Teaching Documents by Helene Benkert
Book Reviews by Helene Benkert
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Papers by Helene Benkert
Drafts by Helene Benkert
https://alexandriaarchive.org/icaz/icaz_website_formembers/pdf/icaz-newsletter-21-1.pdf