2 - Burials of Camels at the Tombs of Warriors

Summary

Why were camels and horses sacrificed and buried alongside the tombs of what appear to be warriors, interred with weapons and armor at archaeological sites on the Arabian peninsula? Similar practices known from the ancient Near East and Greece featured the burial of horses, donkeys, and other riding equids at the graves of warriors and kings, seeming to commemorate the role of these individuals and the military technology they used to secure territory and social prosperity. Other well-known Indo-European sacrificial rituals, such as the Ashmavedha and Equus October, exemplify the link between the sacrifice of horses and remembering the origins of the society that performs the practice. To sacrifice camels in late antique Arabia seems to have symbolized the significance of the animals as sign of position, rank, and power, but also as an epitome of what allowed for the military and economic dominance of the Arabs in the deserts of the ancient world.