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Description: | A cast copper alloy late Iron Age bridle bit, horse harness fitting. The object does not appear to be the actual ??bit?? which would have gone into the horse??s mouth (as the object is too short to have been used as a bit); instead it appears to be part of an elaborate side-ring. The object consists of a flattened circular sectioned length of copper alloy and would once have had two loops, one on each terminal. The long section in the centre measures 33.9mm. One loop still survives intact the other has worn through and has partly broken off. The whole loop is smaller than the other and measures 20.4mm x 23.6mm. The loop is extremely worn (almost to breaking point), at the actual terminal of the object. This could indicate that another ring would once have been passed through the loop and then this fitting was suspended off it. It is possibly that the ring which caused this wear was in fact the side ring and then this extension was used as a stronger way of attaching two rings, would have in turn held the two reins. The other broken loop is slightly larger and has been decorated with a simple ring and dot motif and several transverse ridges. The internal wear on the part of the loop which survives would seem to indicate that another ring did wear against the sides of the loop, which could back up the two ring theory. The breaks on both sides of the loop are extremely worn. The central section between the loops has also been decorated with a series of transverse ridges. There are two ridges acting as a collar below the smaller loop. Then there is a double collar in the centre and a single collar next to the broken loop. The metal is a dark brownish-green and is very smooth, much of the original surface still survives. Similar objects can be seen in MacGregor, 1979, ref: 1 ?? 11 (see full reference below). | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Andrews-Wilson, Liz - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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