Israel. Archaeologists discover earliest known metal bit

The earliest known metal equestrian bit has been unearthed by archaeologists in Israel.

The bit was discovered in an equid burial site at Tel-Haror, and had probably been used on a donkey.

Archaeologists led by Professor Eliezer Oren, from Ben Gurion University, made the discovery in a layer of material dating from 1750 BC to 1650 BC, known as the Middle Bronze IIB Period.

It is among a growing number of sites in the Near East yielding the remains of horses and donkeys.

Dr Joel Klenck, a Harvard University-educated archaeologist and president of the Paleontological Research Corporation, led analysis of the remains in the Tel-Haror site.

He said the burial site is at the base of a dome-shaped structure.

The southeastern wall of the burial edifice was overlaid by a thick mudbrick partition that surrounded a nearby temple complex.
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