Zgodnjesrednjeveške brzde z najdišč v Sloveniji

Archaeological sites in Slovenia have yielded 28 iron bridle bits that date to the Early Middle Ages. Six of them survived complete and the rest in parts. In their basic form, all are jointed snaffle bits with cheekbars, but show differences in formal and decorative details such as the position of the mouthpiece double loops, the form of the rein link, the form, length and decoration of the cheekbars, manner of attaching the cheeckbars and the cross section of the mouthpiece. These formal details are for the most part not chronologically diagnostic. The bits have parallels from both burial and habitation contexts across early medieval Europe. The Slovenian bits were found at hilltop sites with the exception of one that formed part of a hoard unearthed at Sebenje in the lowland. They were found together with other pieces of horse and military equipment that mainly date to the second half of the 9th and the early 10th century. Na slovenskih najdiščih je bilo najdenih 28 železnih brzd iz zgodnjega srednjega veka, od teh je šest celih, druge so delno ohranjene. Upoštevajoč obliko in uveljavljene tipološke sheme lahko vse uvrstimo med enostavne dvodelne brzde s prečkama. Kljub enotnemu osnovnemu tipu se brzde med seboj razlikujejo glede na oblikovanje in okras posameznih delov, to so postavitev zaporednih ušesc, oblika zanke za pritrditev vajeti, oblika, dolžina in okras prečke, pritrditev prečke in presek ustnega dela brzde. Njihove oblikovne različice večinoma niso natančen kronološki pokazatelj, primerjave zanje pa lahko najdemo v grobovih in naselbinah na različnih območjih zgodnjesrednjeveške Evrope. Razen ene brzde, ki je del zakladne najdbe iz Sebenj pri Zasipu, so bile vse odkrite na višinskih najdiščih. Pojavljajo se skupaj z drugimi deli opreme konja in vojščaka, ki v glavnem sodijo v drugo polovico 9. in v zgodnje 10. st.