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EARLY TRANSPORT

RIDERS AND WAGGONS

It is not known when horse riding was first practised in Britain, but it was probably some time between 2000 and 1000 B.C. From 1000 B.C. onwards harness fittings first came into use, cheek pieces and strip fittings in bronze. Other associated items include bands and pendants. Some of the horse tackle suggests the presence of wagons or carts.

Archaeological evidence shows that wheels were used on the Continent from about 2000 B.C. onwards. At this time there were no proper roads, so carts and wagons may have been mainly for display purposes.

A superb bronze ring terret (a ring for driving-reins to pass through), one of the finest examples ever found in Britain, was found by a local metal detector on a site not far from the centre of Dartford.

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