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4 pommel saddle find in Pompeii
#1
The news today is of a 4 pommel saddle found on a horse outside the walls of Pompeii. There is more detail about the construction of the saddle as well, but my question, better here than on FB RAT, is whether such saddles were exclusively military, or also used by civilians. The article in Italian suggests the rider was a kind of military person or commander, perhaps mainly because of the type of saddle. That the horse was saddled up and ready to go suggests a sudden event that overcame it and the rider. 


http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/...SO4y050Ivc
Richard Campbell
Legio XX - Alexandria, Virginia
RAT member #6?
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#2
(12-23-2018, 09:19 PM)richsc Wrote: The news today is of a 4 pommel saddle found on a horse outside the walls of Pompeii. There is more detail about the construction of the saddle as well, but my question, better here than on FB RAT, is whether such saddles were exclusively military, or also used by civilians. The article in Italian suggests the rider was a kind of military person or commander, perhaps mainly because of the type of saddle. That the horse was saddled up and ready to go suggests a sudden event that overcame it and the rider. 


http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/...SO4y050Ivc

That drawing does look awfully familiar, doesn't it? ...

Mike Bishop
You know my method. It is founded upon the observance of trifles

Blogging, tweeting, and mapping Hadrian\'s Wall... because it\'s there
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#3
(12-23-2018, 09:19 PM)richsc Wrote: The news today is of a 4 pommel saddle found on a horse outside the walls of Pompeii. There is more detail about the construction of the saddle as well, but my question, better here than on FB RAT, is whether such saddles were exclusively military, or also used by civilians. The article in Italian suggests the rider was a kind of military person or commander, perhaps mainly because of the type of saddle. That the horse was saddled up and ready to go suggests a sudden event that overcame it and the rider. 


http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/...SO4y050Ivc

Heres a link to the Pompeii press release in english with a lot more pics of the components as well, I think the assumption is thats its military rather then the fact...

A third thoroughbred with an elaborate military harness has been discovered in the stable of Civita Giuliana
Ivor

"And the four bare walls stand on the seashore. a wreck a skeleton a monument of that instability and vicissitude to which all things human are subject. Not a dwelling within sight, and the farm labourer, and curious traveller, are the only persons that ever visit the scene where once so many thousands were congregated." T.Lewin 1867
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#4
Either way it is a cool find. The more evidence we have for these kinds of saddles the better.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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#5
It looks like it largely is confirming our theories as well. Hopefully the positions of all the fragments were recorded, or fragments of other organic material survived, so we can use that data to aid the reconstruction.
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