Horse harness (Roman military equipment)

Reenactor with cavalry outfit. The horse's chest strap is equipped with belt distributors, pearl-like fittings, a phallic and a lunula pendant.

In (provincial) Roman archeology, horse harness is the equipment of Roman cavalry units with which the rider equips his horse . In addition to the functional parts such as saddle and bridle, this also includes numerous decorative or decorative elements.

historical overview

Gravestone of a Roman cavalryman. The chest and tail straps of the harness, which are equipped with disc-shaped phalerae, are clearly recognizable. Date: 2nd half of the 1st century. Site: Cologne.

During the Republican era , the Roman army did not have its own cavalry units. For the fight on horseback one fell back on the troops of allied equestrian peoples in this phase. With the beginning of the imperial era, the cavalry units, called alae, became an integral part of the Roman troops. An Ala usually consisted of 500 riders (ala quingenaria) , in rare cases 1000 riders (ala milliaria) .

Because of their high mobility, they were mainly used to secure borders. When fighting in the field, their towering appearance and the sheer strength of animals undoubtedly had an intimidating effect on the enemy.

presentation

In order to be able to correctly assign the respective armaments of the Roman military, it is advantageous to be able to fall back on preserved image sources. For the Rhine provinces, it is in particular the representations on equestrian tombstones that help in the reconstruction of the horse harness.

Components

The harness of the Roman cavalry units consisted of a leather saddle, a bridle with a bit (bridle) and all sorts of ornaments, some of which also had a technical function. These smaller parts, mostly made of non-ferrous metal, are among the most common small militaria finds. In addition to trailers of different types, there are a wide variety of fasteners, strap closures and distributors. The so-called melon beads made of quartz ceramic are also popular jewelry elements in their larger version (about 2.5 cm in diameter).

With regard to their small size, their quantity and the way they are attached , pendants, phalerae and other decorative elements are typical finds lost. This explains their relative frequency within the category of small militaria finds and enables researchers to understand developments in terms of shape, size and method of attachment. This is to be distinguished from Roman horse armor, which also includes horse foreheads (head protection plates for horses).

Bridle

Reconstruction drawing of a Roman cavalry horse with bridle and horn saddle.

The horse's head harness is called bridle . It basically consists of a halter , reins and at least one steering element. The Roman horse harness always included a bit that could be supplemented with metal bridles or curbs.

Halter and reins

Halters and reins were usually made of leather or rope, which is why they have not been preserved in the archaeological find. However, their structure can be easily reconstructed through pictorial tradition. The composition of the cheek piece and headpiece as well as the browband and throat strap is very similar to the halters commonly used today.

Ring snaffle

Ring snaffles consist of an openwork mouthpiece made of two, less often three, metal rods that are connected to one another by eyelets. At their ends they are connected with a ring, in which the cheek straps and reins can be hung. The mouthpiece rests on the horse's tongue. Thus, by tightening the reins, pressure can be exerted on the tongue and lower jaw. A ring bridle allows the horse a relatively large amount of freedom of movement, for example by moving the tongue or pulling up the head to evade the pressure and thus protect against jerky or nervous movements of the rider. Since the horse's mouth is very sensitive, this can be an advantage during a hectic ride on uneven terrain.

Ring bridles are of Celtic origin and are still used today in their unchanged form, which is why dating based on the shape of the bridle is not possible. They were almost always made of iron.

Roman curb

Bit piece with disc gag. Location Northern France.

The Roman curb is a bridle consisting of a non-perforated bit and two lever bars. For this reason it is also known as a lever bit. This term is misleading, however, as bridles by definition do not have any lever bars ("trees").

The mouthpiece forms a metal rod with a central indentation, which is called "tongue clearance", as it allows the horse to move the tongue. When the reins are pulled strongly, however, it stands up almost vertically and thus also presses on the roof of the animal. The mouthpiece ends in two long iron rings that connect the bit with the halter. These iron rings can be prevented from slipping into the horse's mouth by additionally tightened ring, bar or disc toggles.

The so-called "trees" are also connected to these iron rings. These are simple metal rods that swing outwards and into which the reins are hooked via an eyelet. They use leverage to increase the pressure on the horse's lower jaw. A crossbar between the two rods enables an even force to be applied. The reinforcing effect of a curb can be useful in combat when the horse needs to react precisely to brief signals from the rider. However, it can also quickly lead to serious injuries in the animal's mouth, which is why the curb requires a steady hand. Unlike the ring bridle, the Roman curb is in the Mediterranean tradition. But it was widespread throughout the empire during the imperial era.

Metal bridle

The metal bridle, also called hackamore, describes a metal noseband. Mostly they consisted of a single metal band that ran over the bridge of the nose and the cheeks and closed in the chin pit or at the base of the ganache. In the area of ​​the corners of the horse's mouth it had two eyelets to which it could be connected to the bit. The bridle exerted additional pressure on the animal's sensitive nose. The English term "hackamore" is a bit imprecise because - unlike in modern equestrian sport - it was always combined with a bit, metal bridles appeared from the Augustan period and were common until the 3rd century.

Strap fittings

Strap fittings are small metal plates that are attached with rivets to the visible side of a leather strap. They were often adorned with decorative or lucky motifs that were driven or engraved into metal. They can vary greatly in shape, but they all have in common the rivets or rivet holes that are still intact, which they identify as hardware. Belt fittings primarily have a decorative purpose, but also help to stiffen the leather straps so that they do not twist. Larger fittings belonging to the horse harness can probably be assigned to the much wider saddle girths.

Belt distributor

Belt distributors are simple rings, mostly cast from bronze, into which leather straps with belt loops can be attached as end pieces. In this way, several straps are freely connected to one another without the risk of them becoming knotted or interfering with one another. Belt distributor rings are documented from the early imperial period, from the middle of the 1st century onwards they are replaced more rarely and increasingly by the more decorative phalerae.

Phalerae

An openwork phalera with floral motifs. 3rd century AD, found in Oxfordshire (GB).

Phalerae are metal ornamental discs that, like belt dividers, connect several leather straps with one another. The smaller specimens in particular are often made of non-ferrous metal; the front side can also be silver-plated and lavishly decorated. A popular motif are concentric annular bulges with a central hump. The back provides information about their function: there are eyelets or tabs that are connected to the belt loops. Additional tags can also be attached to it.

Phalerae could also serve as military medals. Then they were carried on the upper body with the help of a frame made of straps or - in the case of entire units - attached to the standard. A closer look at the fastening parts helps to differentiate between them - rounded eyelets pointing in different directions indicate a function as a belt distributor on a horse harness.

Strap loops

Belt loops are fasteners on Roman horse harness. They sit at the end of a leather strap and connect it to a strap distributor or a phalera. Unlike hook-and-eye fasteners, this connection is permanent. Belt loops are basically constructed very simply: They consist of a decorative sheet that can be rectangular, baluster-shaped or animorphic, i.e. animal-shaped, and an elongated tongue. This is folded over and fixed with two rivets on the underside of the decorative plate, which also attaches the leather strap to the metal piece. Because of the different closure methods, belt loops attached to belt distributors have a rounded loop, while those belonging to a phalera are rather flat.

Strap hooks and eyes

Strap hooks and strap eyelets are locking parts on Roman horse harness. In contrast to the strap loops, they can be opened and loosened again and again, which is necessary for certain elements of the bridle, such as the throat strap on the halter. The clasp consists of a decorative sheet metal to which the leather strap is riveted and which ends in a kind of hook. This can be in the form of a stylized bird's head or simply T-shaped. The hook engages in a keyhole-like eyelet, which is connected to the decorative plate of another strap via a hinge. Strap hooks and loops can be very elaborately decorated. They can be dated through the respective decoration technique.

Strap end weights

Strap end weights are the end pieces of a strap. They should keep the leather strip straight and protect it from fraying. To do this, they are attached to the straps with rivets. The lower end is often formed by a profiled end button; but sometimes additional pendants or phalerae are attached to it. Strap end weights are not just used for horse harnesses, they can also be part of the Roman military belt.

pendant

Harness trailer. Sexual symbols such as the manu fica (left pendant) combined with erect (left) and un-erect phalluses (below) were particularly popular.

Small decorative pieces of jewelry on the horse harness are called pendants. They were mostly cast from non-ferrous metal and often also tin-plated or silver-plated. Popular decorating techniques were incised and punched patterns as well as niell decor and all kinds of chasing . The tags were usually attached to a hanging loop with an integrated hook that was attached to the leather strap with a rivet. Trailers can also be hung with other elements. Particularly large specimens and regular structures from individual trailers are usually assigned to the chest strap, as there is enough space here. A somewhat rarer, oval type of pendant was attached to a phalera by a hinge . In addition, the range of types was large: Lunula and phallus pendants in particular were widespread throughout the empire from the late Augustan period. Winged, lanceolate and three-leaf pendants are also frequent finds from the early 1st century. From the Claudian-Neronic period onwards, leaf, peltoid and teardrop-shaped types came into circulation and remained in use until the 2nd century. Some motifs, such as the lunula , persist into the early Middle Ages.

Melon pearls

Large melon bead made of blue glass. Site Britain

Melon pearls are small, approximately 2.5 cm wide pearls, which get their name from their oval shape with longitudinal grooves. They consist of blue glass or quartz ceramic, a clay-like mass of ground quartz sand. Melon beads made of quartz ceramic are also glazed after firing. Their hue can vary between a light turquoise, green-blue and a deep blue. The melon pearls originally come from the Middle East and were probably made of turquoise or lapis lazuli. Due to the advancing glass technology, they could be artificially produced in large numbers in Roman times. In addition to the larger versions that were attached to the bridle of riding and draft animals, there was a smaller, about 1.2 cm wide type that was mainly worn by women as a decorative element. Presumably, the pearls were said to have an apotropaic effect, as is still the case in the Orient today.

function

In addition to its technical function of affecting the mount, the elaborate design of the harness probably also had a psychological effect.

Protective function

The type of trailer found is particularly diverse. They could have been attached to any part of the horse harness. They often represent stylized animals, phalluses or female symbols ( cowrie shells , manu fica ), and they have been ascribed a good luck effect. This was to protect the horse, which is more prone to injury and disease than most farm animals. A fall on uneven terrain or a colic from incorrect feeding could be fatal. The cavalryman wanted to protect his steed as much as possible from this as well as from combat injuries, because in addition to the high financial value of the animals, they were the most important “weapon” and clout of the military class in use.

External impact

The numerous small pendants and metal components caused a loud clang when moving, which must have had an acoustic effect on the opposing army. At least the horses as instinctive escape animals should have been irritated by the background noise if they had not been trained on it.

Another function is the representative effect of the lavishly decorated dishes. It demonstrates to the other person that he is dealing with an obviously wealthy member of the Roman military who can afford high-quality equipment and presents it confidently.

discussion

The small finds belonging to the harness cannot always be clearly put into a military context. Christina Simon Ortisi, who examined the cavalry finds of the Vesuvius cities in her dissertation , considers the distinction between civil and military use for the Italian area to be impossible. Eckhard Deschler-Erb suggests the following criteria for identifying military crockery finds: those that

• can be identified on ancient representations of Roman cavalry,
• come from hoard finds that are exclusively related to the military,
• are so uniformly designed and so widespread that only the military can be used as a distributor for these special objects.

Another difficulty arises from the fact that smaller elements of the bridle such as melon beads or pendants can occur not only in riding horses but also in draft animals, as a find from Kalkriese shows. Therefore, small finds belonging to the horse harness are not a clear indication of a cavalry unit.

literature

• Mike C. Bishop: Cavalry equipment of the Roman army in the first century AD , In: Jonathan C. Coulston (Ed.): Military equipment and the Identity of Roman Soldiers . Proceedings of the Fourth Roman Military Equipment Conference, (= BAR International Series 394), Oxford (1900), pp. 67-195.
• Peter Connolly : Tiberius Claudius Maximus . Part 2: A Roman Horseman . Tessloff-Verlag, Nuremberg 1990, ISBN 3-7886-0185-X .
• Eckhard Deschler-Erb : Ad arma !: Roman military of the 1st century AD in Augusta Raurica (= research in Augst 28), Römermuseum Augst, Augst 1999, ISBN 3-7151-0028-1 , pp. 49-66 .
• Eckhard Deschler-Erb et al .: Finds from Asciburgium. Roman military equipment from the fort and vicus of Asciburgium (= series of publications by the Lower Monument Authority 17), Faustus, Duisburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-933474-84-1 .
• Thomas Fischer , The Army of the Caesars. Archeology and History , Pustet, Regensburg 2012, ISBN 9783791724133 , pp. 216–220.
• Thomas Fischer: The Roman provinces. An introduction to studying their archeology . Theiss, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 380621591X .
• Marcus Junkelmann : The riders of Rome. Part I: Travel, hunting, triumph and circus races (= cultural history of the ancient world 45), Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 9783805310062 .
• Marcus Junkelmann: The riders of Rome. Part II: The military mission (= cultural history of the ancient world 49), Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 9783805311397 .
• Marcus Junkelmann: The riders of Rome. Part III: Accessories, riding style, armament (= cultural history of the ancient world 53), Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2008, ISBN 9783805312882 .
• Marcus Junkelmann: Roman Cavalry - Equites Alae. The combat equipment of the Roman horsemen in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD , (= series of publications of the Limes Museum Aalen 42), Stuttgart 1989.
• Marcus Junkelmann, Hermann Born: Roman combat and tournament armor , Axel Guttmann Collection, Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-1668-2 .
• Marcus Junkelmann: Horsemen and statues made of ore . Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1996, ISBN 3805318197 .
• Christina Simon Ortisi: Studies on Roman horse harness from Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Vesuvius villas. Metal bridles, snaffles and curbs Volume 1, Munich 2003 (= dissertation).
• Salvatore Ortisi : Military equipment and horse harness from the Vesuvius cities (= Palilia 28), Reichert, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 9783954900213 .
• Jennifer Schamper: Studies on parade armor parts and other weapons of the Roman Empire (= Cologne studies on the archeology of the Roman provinces . Volume 12), Marie Leidorf, Rahden, Westphalia 2015, ISBN 9783896461407 .

Remarks

1. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb : Ad arma !: Roman military of the 1st century AD in Augusta Raurica (= Research In Augst 28), Römermuseum Augst, Augst 1999, ISBN 3-7151-0028-1 , p. 49– 66.
2. ↑ Christina Simon Ortisi: Studies of the Roman horse harness from Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Vesuvius villas. Metal bridles, snaffles and curbs, Volume 1, Munich 2003, p. 49 (= dissertation).
3. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb et al .: Finds from Asciburgium. Roman military equipment from the fort and vicus of Asciburgium (= series of publications by the Lower Monument Authority 17), Faustus, Duisburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-933474-84-1 . Pp. 67-70.
4. ↑ Christina Simon Ortisi: Studies of the Roman horse harness from Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Vesuvius villas. Metal bridles, snaffles and curbs, Volume 1, Munich 2003, pp. 65–73. (= Dissertation)
5. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb : Ad arma !: Roman military of the 1st century AD in Augusta Raurica (= Research In Augst 28), Römermuseum Augst, Augst 1999, ISBN 3-7151-0028-1 , p. 49– 66; here: p. 65.
6. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb et al .: Finds from Asciburgium. Roman military equipment from the fort and vicus of Asciburgium (= series of publications by the Lower Monument Authority 17), Faustus, Duisburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-933474-84-1 . P. 64.
7. ↑ Christina Simon Ortisi: Studies of the Roman horse harness from Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Vesuvius villas. Metal bridles, bridles and curbs, Volume 1, Munich 2003, p. 64 (= dissertation).
8. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb : Ad arma !: Roman military of the 1st century AD in Augusta Raurica (= Research In Augst 28), Römermuseum Augst, Augst 1999, ISBN 3-7151-0028-1 , p. 49– 66; here: p. 49.
9. ↑ Eckhard Deschler-Erb : Ad arma !: Roman military of the 1st century AD in Augusta Raurica (= Research In Augst 28), Römermuseum Augst, Augst 1999, ISBN 3-7151-0028-1 , p. 49– 66; here: p. 54, note 251.