Saddle mounts

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These bronze objects are from the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. Only when a virtually complete Roman saddle was found in Holland was it realised what they were - mounts to stiffen projections at each corner of a saddle.

All the mounts bear scratched inscriptions, identifying the owner and his unit. The outside of the mounts would probably have been covered with leather to grip the leather of the saddle more effectively.

Roman cavalry horses were fitted with heavy leather saddles with horns, ornamented with a variety of metal fittings and pendants. Few examples survive, but they are pictured on gravestones and other Roman carvings.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-036-823-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.FRA 130
• Date: Between 80 and 100 AD
  
• Material: Copper alloy
  Saddle mount
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Saddle mount
  
• Subject:
• Who: Newstead Collection
  
• Where: Scotland, Roxburghshire, Melrose, Newstead
  
• Event:
• Description: Four copper alloy saddle mounts, marked to indicate ownership, from Newstead
  
• References:
  • Clarke, D.V., Breeze, D.J., and Mackay, G. The Romans in Scotland. An introduction to the collections of the National Museums of Antiquities of Scotland. Edinburgh: National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland, 1980, p 70. 
  • Curle, J. A Roman frontier post and its people: the fort of Newstead. Glasgow: MacLehose, 1911, pp 177-8, pl XXXII. 
• Translations:
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