Ave!

Cavalry Prick-spur, 1st-3rd Cent., Choice!

Copper alloy; 71mm across the bow / 9.8gm

Con/ Slight plow bend and missing iron spur prick, otherwise, As Fabricated; choice original green patina. Scarce with both original peened attachment pins and grommets!

Seller's Note/ As seen in the photos, these type of spurs were directly riveted to the horse-troopers boot heels and affixed firmly in place so they could not be removed or fall off. In order to keep the spur from flopping about, a leather thong was then fixed around the hook on back top and then wrapped and tied about the boot to keep it straight on the boot heel. Make sense to you?

The ancient Romans certainly had saddles, but stirrups were unknown to them until the very late 4th Century ( ca, 395 AD) when the first invasions of the Huns began.

Now, If you look closely at the second photo, you'll see that the spur prick has been slightly off set to the right which leads me to believe that this particular spur was attached on the riders right boot. Again, do to the lack of stirrups, this would have been a benefit to the horseman. The prick was a separate piece attached via an iron pin - you can see traces of it inside in the third photo.

Roman ingenuity at its best! Impossibly Rare!