ON SKULLS OF HORSES FROM THE ROMAN FORT AT NEWSTEAD. 573 



' Spanish ' regiments within easy reach, Spanish horses of various kinds may well have 

 found their way to the important frontier fort at Newstead. 



For centuries the Low Countries have produced horses of the Forest type — long, low, 

 stout animals with a short broad head, short neck, round quarters, and a superabundance 

 of forelock, mane, and tail ; horses with thick legs, broad hoofs — resembling the 

 figures on old Dutch plaques and " the Jumping Horse " of Velasquez. During the 

 second century there was a partially mounted regiment originally raised among the 

 Tungri on the lower Rhine (cohorts II. Tungrorum miliaria equitata) at Birrens in 

 Dumfriesshire, while a regiment of cavalry (ala I. Tungrorum) from the same area 

 has left inscriptions at Burgh-upon- Sands and also at Mumerills near Falkirk. Further, 

 there was a partially mounted regiment of Vangiones (cohors I. Vangionum miliaria 

 equitata) who also dwelt about the lower parts of the Rhine, stationed for a time at 

 Risingham on the line between Newstead and Hadrian's Wall. All of these regiments 

 probably contained a large proportion of horses of the Forest type, such as are 

 suggested by some of the Newstead skulls. 



As the Gauls from the second century B.C. onwards had been importing horses from 

 the south of Europe, it seemed to me probable that the better bred horses in the 

 Newstead fort came from Gaul. 



I assumed that at least some of the better bred Newstead horses came from France, 

 because Caesar points out that the Gauls took special delight in foreign horses for which 

 they paid large sums. If the Gauls had well-bred horses, there is ready to hand a 

 tempting explanation of the existence of Arab-like steeds in the Newstead fort; for 

 Newstead was garrisoned, or at least partly garrisoned for a time, by a regiment of 

 ' Gaulish ' cavalry. This regiment (ala Augusta Vocontiorum) was originally raised 

 among the Vocontii, i.e. in the district between the Rhone and the Alps, — a district 

 which had doubtless long benefited by the importation of well-bred horses from the 

 South. 



In addition to the ' Gaulish ' cavalry stationed at Newstead, there were several 

 cohortes equitatse from Gaul in garrison not very far from Newstead. One of these 

 (cohors II II. Gallorum equitata), which seems to have been moved to Britain from 

 Spain, was for a time stationed at Risingham (on the direct line between Hadrian's 

 Wall and Newstead) and at Castlehill, at the western end of the Scottish Wall. 



With a cavalry regiment originally raised between the Rhone and the Alps in 

 Newstead and with alse or cohortes equitatse or both from other parts of Gaul, as well 

 as from Spain, Germany, and the Low Countries in garrison near the Scottish borders, 

 it is not difficult to account for horses of very different types having occurred at 

 Newstead, one of the largest, if not actually the largest Roman fort on the British 

 frontier. 



