Bronsåldershästarna från Tågaborg i nytt ljus

This paper discusses a Bronze Age hoard, found at Tågaborg in 1895, in the city of Helsingborg. The find is regarded as one of the most important from the Early Bronze Age in Sweden, 1500–1300 BC. It includes two small bronze horse sculptures, four spearheads and three axes made from bronze. In 2002 replicas of the horse figurines were made for exhibition purposes, along with a new examination. It turned out that the bronze horse hoofs were designed as deer hooves. Besides, traces on the preserved head of one of the horse figurines showed signs of fitting for antlers, now lost. Considering these observations, we suggest that the bronze horse sculptures at Tågaborg instead should be interpreted as deer within the Cervidae family. In the article the symbolism of stags versus horses is briefly touched upon and related to rock carvings, miniature wagons and antler deposits (with a ritual intent) in wet land.