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

Summary

# Editorial Summary Archaeological excavation at Tel Haror, Israel uncovered a ritually interred donkey skeleton dating to the Middle Bronze Age III period (approximately 1700–1550 BCE), providing rare physical evidence of equid management practices in the ancient Levant alongside contemporaneous textual and artistic records. The skeleton was discovered with a metal bit positioned at the dental arcade and saddlebag fastening hardware preserved on the vertebral column, representing the earliest known combination of both bridling and pack-carrying equipment associated with a single animal. This unique find demonstrates that Bronze Age handlers employed donkeys for load-bearing tasks using structured harness systems, whilst metal bitting technology was sufficiently advanced and valued to warrant ritual deposition with the animal itself. For modern equine professionals, the discovery underscores the antiquity of biomechanical principles in equid control and load distribution—concepts that remain fundamental to contemporary tacking, bit selection, and pack animal management. The deliberate burial of this equipped donkey signals that equids held considerable social and religious status in Bronze Age societies, informing our understanding of how working equines have been integral to human cultures for over three and a half millennia.

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Key Findings

• •Metal horse bit discovered in association with Middle Bronze Age III donkey skeleton (1700/1650-1550 BCE)
• •Saddlebag fastenings found on donkey remains indicating use as pack animal
• •Ritual interment demonstrates early evidence of equid harnessing equipment in Levantine Bronze Age
• •Discovery provides archaeological evidence for both chariot bridling and pack animal equipment in Bronze Age society

Conditions Studied