Symbolic metal bit and saddlebag fastenings in a Middle Bronze Age donkey burial.

Here we report the unprecedented discovery of the skeleton of a ritually interred donkey with a metal horse bit in association with its teeth and saddlebag fastenings on its back. This discovery in the Middle Bronze Age III sacred precinct (1700/1650-1550 BCE) at Tel Haror, Israel, presents a unique combination of evidence for the early employment of equid harnessing equipment, both for chariot bridling (horse bit) and pack animals (saddlebags). The ritually deposited donkey with its unique accoutrements advances our understanding of the broad social and religious significance of equids in the Levantine Bronze Age, previously known mainly from textual and iconographical sources

The donkey interment inside the circular installation.

<p>Notice the 1992 find of the donkey's skull and bit <i>in situ</i> (on the right).</p

The bridle bit (Specimen IAA # 2009-951, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem).

<p>The bridle bit (Specimen IAA # 2009-951, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem).</p

Plan of the offering installation and donkey interment with close-up of groups of saddlebag fasteners.

<p>Plan of the offering installation and donkey interment with close-up of groups of saddlebag fasteners.</p

Location map showing Tel Haror and other sites mentioned in the text.

<p>Location map showing Tel Haror and other sites mentioned in the text.</p

Reconstruction of the saddlebags on a donkey (from a depiction in a tomb painting at Beni Hasan, Egypt).

<p>Reconstruction of the saddlebags on a donkey (from a depiction in a tomb painting at Beni Hasan, Egypt).</p