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The known history of the horse in Britain starts with horse remains found in Pakefield, Suffolk, dating from 700,000 BC, and in Boxgrove, West Sussex, dating from 500,000 BC. Early humans were active hunters of horses, and finds from the Ice Age have been recovered from many sites. At that time, land which now forms the British Isles was part of a peninsula attached to continental Europe by a low-lying area now known as "Doggerland," and land animals could migrate freely between what is now island Britain and continental Europe. The domestication of horses, and their use to pull vehicles, had begun in Britain by 2500 BC; by the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, British tribes could assemble armies which included thousands of chariots. Horse improvement as a goal, and horse breeding as an enterprise, date to medieval times; King John imported a hundred Flemish stallions, Edward III imported fifty Spanish stallions, and various priories and abbeys owned stud farms. Laws were passed restricting and prohibiting horse exports and for the culling of horses considered undesirable in type. By the 17th century, specific horse breeds were being recorded as suitable for specific purposes, and new horse-drawn agricultural machinery was being designed. Fast coaches pulled by teams of horses with Thoroughbred blood could make use of improved roads, and coaching inn proprietors owned hundreds of horses to support the trade. Steam power took over the role of horses in agriculture from the mid-19th century, but horses continued to be used in warfare for almost another 100 years, as their speed and agility over rough terrain remained unequalled. Working horses had all but disappeared from Britain by the 1980s, and today horses in Britain are kept almost wholly for recreational purposes. ==Pleistocene epoch== The earliest horse remains found in the area now covered by Britain and Ireland date to the Middle Pleistocene. Two species of horse have been identified from remains at Pakefield, East Anglia, dating back to 700,000 BC.〔Stuart, Tony (2006), ("Exotic world before Suffolk" ), ''British Archaeology'' (86). Retrieved 22 March 2011.〕 Spear damage on a horse shoulder bone discovered at Eartham Pit, Boxgrove, dated 500,000 BC, showed that early hominids were hunting horses in the area at that time.〔Roberts, Mark (1996), ("'Man the Hunter' returns at Boxgrove" ), ''British Archaeology'' (18). Retrieved 22 March 2011.〕 The land which now comprises the British Isles was periodically joined to continental Europe by a land bridge, extending from approximately the current coast of North Yorkshire to the English Channel, most recently until about 9,000 years ago. Dependent on the rise and fall of sea levels associated with advancing and retreating Ice ages, this allowed humans and fauna to migrate between these areas; as the climate fluctuated, hunters could follow their prey, including equids.〔("Huge ice age river carved the English Channel" ). ''The Independent''. 2009. Retrieved 6&March 2012.〕 Although much of Britain from this time is now beneath the sea, remains have been discovered on land that show horses were present, and being hunted, in this period. Significant finds include a horse tooth dating from between 55,000 and 47,000 BC and horse bones dating from between 50,000 and 45,000 BC, recovered from Pin Hole Cave, in the Creswell Crags ravine in the North Midlands; further horse remains from the same era have been recovered from Kent's Cavern.〔Wragg Sykes, Rebecca (2009), ("Neanderthals In Britain: Late Mousterian Archaeology in Landscape Context" ) 1, pp. 19, 34. University of Manchester. Retrieved 7 March 2012.〕 In Robin Hood Cave, also in Creswell Crags, a horse tooth was recovered dating from between 32,000 to 24,000 BC; this cave has also preserved one of the earliest examples of prehistoric artwork in Britain – an engraving of a horse, on a piece of horse bone.〔Bahn, Paul (2003), ("Art of the Hunters" ), ''British Archaeology'' (72). Retrieved 7 March 2012.〕 A goddess figurine carved from horse bone and dating from around 23,000 BC has been recovered from Paviland Cave in South Wales.〔Dames, Michael (2005), ("Footsteps of the Goddess in Britain and Ireland" ). Societies of Peace 2nd World Congress on Matriarchal Studies. Retrieved 7 March 2012.〕 Horse remains dating to the later part of this period – roughly coinciding with the end of the last glacial period – have been found at Farndon Fields, Nottinghamshire, dating from around 12,000 BC.〔Pitts, Mike (2010), ("news (A moment in the life of an ice age hunter unique find)" ), ''British Archaeology'' (115). Retrieved 7 March 2012.〕 Mother Grundy's Parlour, also in Creswell Crags, contains horse remains showing cut marks indicating that hunting of horses occurred there around 10,000 BC.〔("Mother Grundy's Parlour" ). Creswell Crags Museum & Heritage Centre. 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2011.〕 A study of Victoria Cave in North Yorkshire produced a horse bone showing cut marks dating from about the same time. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the horse in Britain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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