Possible Vehicle fitting (piece)

This object is possibly an iron vehicle fitting, perhaps a rein guide. It was found during excavations at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. It was used between 80 and 180 AD.

The possible fitting has a ribbed tubular top, with a two-piece tapering tang descending from it. The ribs are probably decorative. The tang was to fix this into a wooden object, probably a vehicle.

If this was a vehicle fitting, then the reins from the horse to the rider would have passed through it. Its function would have been to keep the reins from tangling. It may have come from a heavy duty vehicle such as a cart, rather than from a chariot.

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