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Description: | A complete cast copper alloy plain harness fitting / terret ring of Late Iron Age to Early Roman dating (100 BC to 100 AD).The terret ring is sub oval (D shaped) in plan with an irregular sub-oval (D shaped) cross section. The attachment bar is oval in cross section and flanked by two circular mouldings. Each of these moulding has a central circumferential groove separating the mouldings into two parts. There is no evidence for other cast decorative motifs or enameled or applied decoration.The terret ring measures 36.71mm in length; 41.19mm wide and 11.59mm thick. The internal dimensions of the ring are 24.73mm length and 30.79mm wide. It weighs 25.2grams.Terret rings were used as rein guides on chariots or carts used during the Late Iron Age to Early Roman period. They would have been attached to the yoke or the pole of the cart, probably lashed using rawhide. This suggestion of function as a rein guide is supported by evidence of wear or fractures on many examples. There have been situations where it has been possible to identify complete sets of horse trappings, such as the Stanwick / Melsonby hoard (MacGregor, 1962, 31), up to five terrets were deemed necessary for paired draught (MacGregor, 1976, 39). MacGregor (1976, 41) noted that simple or plain terrets tended to have a South-west / North-east distribution, with an extension into Lowland Scotland, with 51 examples dating from a range of contexts from Iron Age to Roman. Simple / plain terrets would appear to be a relatively long lived style of terret ring. MacGregor (1976) published three simple / plain terrets of a similar size as #46 from Ardoch, Perthshire; #49 from Chesters, Northumberland and #51 from Dunure, Ayrshire. Likewise, there are a number of similar examples published on the PAS database including: YORYM-9F3540, LVPL-F94806 & LVPL-660CC1 from the East Riding of Yorkshire; SUSS-6B9B31 from West Sussex; SWYOR-6FB6D2 from North Yorkshire; NMS-5E5724 & NMS-032B00 from Norfolk and LIN-EF1285 from Lincolnshire.References:MacGregor, M. 1962. 'The Early Iron Age Metalwork hoard from Stanwick, North Riding, Yorkshire'. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society XXVII. 17-57.MacGregor, M. 1976. Early Celtic Art in North Britain. Leicester University Press. Leicester
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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