2,500-Year-Old Bronze Bridle Unearthed in Poland

TORUŃ, POLAND—Science in Poland reports that some 150 decorative bronze pieces of a 2,500-year-old horse’s bridle were discovered in north-central Poland. The pieces, which resemble those made by the Scythians, who lived to the north, had been wrapped in leaves and placed in a leather bag. “This secured deposit had been buried on a sandy hill near the bank of the Vistula,” said Jacek Gackowski of the Nicolaus Copernicus University. “It can be assumed that someone who hid these valuable items planned their subsequent extraction.” The only thing missing from the bridle is the bit, the piece that rests in the horse’s mouth, he added. The leather bag also contained a locally made ax. Gackowski thinks the person who buried the bridle and the ax may have intended to melt them down. “Samples will be taken and their analysis will allow, among other things, to determine the exact time when the treasure was buried,” he said. To read about burials of female Scythian warriors buried with horse tack and weapons, go to "Arms and the Women."