A tourniquet with a pin, a sidebar with pin, a pendant to buzzers

An inconspicuous object cast in bronze, equipped with an ear and a massive short bar, the so-called "cotter" had various functions. It was used in horse tacks and harnesses, serving as a hanger to jingels or a rein-knobs (bit links). In the latter case, a cotter was placed at both ends of the bit to prevent it from moving in the horse's mouth while pulling down reins. On the other hand, the earpiece was permanently connected to the rest of the horse's bridle (the halter). Such elements were also mounted on sword scabbards. The cotter tucked into the appropriate straps made it possible to stabilise the weapon while carrying it or riding. Smaller and more delicate specimens were used as pendants, for example, for toiletries. The relic was discovered in a hoard containing more than 60 items at the end of the 19th century. These were various products connected with metallurgy and weapons, tools, body ornaments and clothes. The deposit rested only 15 cm below the surface of a flooded meadow belonging to Mr August Schiewer. All the bronze objects were placed in a sizeable earthenware vessel hidden next to a large stone. This magnificent, multi-piece find from the 5th period of the Bronze Age (ca. 900-750 BC) found its way to the Szczecin museum collection. Polish finds with elements of horse harness, dated to the end of the Bronze Age, are concentrated almost exclusively in Pomerania. Among the nearly 40 hoards recorded there, horse halters of the presented type are known only from Witkowo and a newly discovered hoard from the village of Kaliska near Szczecinek.

Dorota Kozłowska