ON HORSE-SHOES. 
655 
Inquiry into Ancient Arms and Armour/ vol. i, p. 10, tells us 
that “the Normans introduced the art of shoeing horses as 
at present practised in England; for, though the Britons had 
been taught the use of them by the Romans, their pedolau 
were probably considered too clumsy to be adopted by the 
Saxons.” 
The Roman horse-shoe, or pedillum^ lapped over and was 
tied round the hoof of the horse, and therefore occasioned a 
rattling sound. Positive as these assertions are, we may yet 
be pardoned for inquiring whether there be not some evidence 
of the employment of the modern-fashioned horse-shoe at 
an earlier period than the Norman conquest, or even in the 
time of the Roman occupation of Britain. The Romans 
might, and probably did at first, attach a metallic sole to the 
sock of their horses, but afterwards they secured the shoe to 
the hoof with nails. 
Beger, in his c Thesaur. Elect. Brandenburg / vol. iii, p. 597, 
has figured a family coin of bronze, on the obverse of 
which are two snakes with their tails entwined, and between 
them two horse-shoes of a plain, arched form, each pierced 
with eight nail-holes, and having calkins at their heels; on 
the reverse is a tree between the words 10, IO, and the 
legend TRIVMP. {he). By whom, or on what occasion, this 
curious medal was struck is doubtful, but certain it is that 
this is one of the earliest indications of the modern-fashioned 
horse-shoe that we meet with on any Roman monuments. 
In the ‘ ArcliceologieJ vol. xiv, p. 4, mention is made ot 
the discovery at Colney, in Norfolk, of Roman urns, iron 
spear-heads, and 6i a horse-shoe of unusual shape, round, and 
broad in front, narrowing very much backward, and having 
its extreme ends brought almost close behind, and rather 
pointed inwards, with the nail-holes still perfect.^ It is to 
be regretted that no engraving is given of this shoe. 
In making an excavation at Lothbury on July 5th, 1847, 
at the depth of sixteen feet below the surface, the workmen 
came upon a number of Roman reliquiae , consisting of iron 
keys, Samien and other pottery, and various other articles, 
amongst which was the iron horse-shoe (See plate fig. 1). 
It is of small size, measuring about only three inches six 
eighths long, three inches five eighths wide, and about three 
quarters of an inch at the broadest part of the toe, narrowing 
very much at the ends. 
It is rather thin, having on each side three deep, oblong in¬ 
dentations, punched in such a way as to cause the outer edge 
to bulge, and in the centre of these hollows are the nail- 
holes, which are of a rather square form. 
