Funnel-shaped snaffle bits of the 7th-8th centuries discovered in Transylvania and Slovakia

Abstract

Three identical horse bits, not analysed until now in literature and belonging to a unique type among the other contemporary horse bits dating to the 7th-8th centuries, were discovered in Transylvania and Slovakia. Two of them come from Transylvania: one from Iernut / Sfântu Gheorghe (jud. Mureș/RO) and a second from Săcueni (jud. Bihor/RO). A third bit was found in a grave in Devínska Nová Ves (Bratislava) in Slovakia. The technological specificities and the special shape of the snaffle distinguish these three horse bits as a special type discovered in European sites of the Early Middle Ages. It may be called flexible horse bit with funnel-shaped snaffle. The examples from Iernut / Sfântu Gheorghe, Devínska Nová Ves, and Săcueni date to the 7th century. Yet, the use of the respective horse bits, especially during the second half of the 7th century, possibly even during the first decades of the 8th century, cannot be ruled out. All three horse bits come from a Slavic-Avar environment.