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Description: | Late Iron Age to Early Roman cheek ring or side ring from a derivative three-link bridle bit (Spratling, Group II), probably of mid 1st century to mid 2nd century AD date. The cheek ring is complete and has an overall length of 71.9mm and weighs 104.0g. The loop at the apex of the ring has an internal diameter of 6-9mm and is of sub-rectangular section. At the head of the loop is an irregular malformed trumpet moulding on one side only, but appears to be conjoined to the other side of the loop at the top, and may be miscast. It is likely that the bridle link and ring were cast onto each other, resulting in the poorly defined loop terminal. At the base of the loop is the thickest part of the ring at 11.5mm, where a decorative moulding begins and extends into the interior of the ring. The moulding may be seen as comprising two rounded and opposing L-shaped arms. Beneath the L-shaped arms is an integral sub-rectangular device (26 x 9mm), containing incised linear and horizontal decoration. There is a C scroll between each end of the moulding and the inner side of the hoop. The ring has a width of 65.0mm and is of rounded D-shaped section, becoming more circular at the base of the hoop. The hoop becomes broader and thicker as it approaches the loop (with a maximum width of 9.5mm and thickness of 7.7mm, and minimum width of 5.6mm and thickness of 5.4mm). The hoop terminates at the base of the loop with a collar or trumpet moulding. On each side of the hoop is a rectangular panel (11mm x 8mm) at the same height as the rectangular device in the interior of the ring. The rectangular panels are decorated with incised horizontal decoration (now eroded), echoing the decoration on the interior rectangle. The hoop displays evidence of wear on the left-hand side. If the rein was applied with upward pressure, the position of the wear would suggest that this ring was positioned on the right-hand sidle of the bridle. The rear of the ring is undecorated and is flat at the top. The cheek ring generally has good surface preservation, with some areas of damage at the rear and has a mid to dark green patina. A waxy substance has recently been applied to the surface.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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