File:Unknown date, snaffle bit (front, reverse) (FindID 214670).jpg

English: A complete iron snaffle dating from the Roman period or possibly later. The snaffle consists of a mouthpiece of two jointed links fastened to cheekpieces of ring form. The mouthpiece links consist of a bar with a loop at each terminal. On one of the links (length 70.2mm) the loops are orientated at an angle of about 80 degrees from one another. On the second link (length 77.8mm), the angle between the loops is approximately 20 degrees. The snaffle is corroded and has an uneven brown surface. One cheekpiece moves freely within the mouthpiece loop, but the other cheekpiece and the two mouthpiece links have been fused together by corrosion. The moveable cheekpiece has a maximum external diameter of 80.4mm (excluding a large corrosion deposit which is on the perimeter). The second cheekpiece has a maximum diameter of 76.7mm. The snaffle weighs approximately 208g. The object is similar to the snaffle bit reference H15 identified by Manning in "Catalogue of the Romano-British Iron Tools, Fittings and Weapons in the British Museum" (1985, p.67 and plate 29). This is dated to the mid-first century. The finder has reported that the object was found within approximately 20 square yards of other Roman objects (e.g. see brooch reference WMID-A2B135 and steelyard weight reference WMID-A2E254), although there were also some other objects of less certain date within the same area (e.g. see object reference WMID-A29465). The ring form of cheekpiece is defined as "Type A" by Ward-Perkins in "The London Museum Medieval Catalogue" (1940, p.80-82 ). The mouthpiece consisting of two straight bars with loops at the ends is "Type II" as defined by Ward-Perkins (ibid.). According to Ward-Perkins, both types of cheekpiece are seen in medieval snaffles (ibid. p.80-82). The snaffle recorded here dates from the Roman period, or possibly later.