Bridle bit

A bridle bit is used to control a horse. This bronze example, with two attached rings, is the only surviving one of a pair found at Middlebie in Dumfriesshire. It was part of a hoard deposited sometime in the first two centuries AD.

The bridle bit is of a type known as a 'derivative three-link' bit. The use of bosses is paralleled on a range of metalwork from northern England and Scotland at this period. There is evidence of wear on the inside edges of each ring and the link heads.

Leather on early harnesses rarely survives, but the metal fittings, ornaments and components of bridle bits are often preserved. Bridle bits come in a number of forms, sometimes plain, sometimes with ornamented rings and linking pieces.

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