Note 59: — XVI.—HORSES AND CHARIOTS. (Wall-Cases 49-51.)

It has been a subject of controversy whether Greek and Roman horses were shod. There is no mention of horse-shoes in Greek literature, and it seems improbable that they were used by the Greeks. Xenophon advises the use of a specially constructed stone floor for hardening the horse's hoofs,59 but in spite of such precautions, it is not surprising to hear that the Athenian cavalry horses sometimes went lame as a result of continuous work on hard ground.60 Horse-shoes are occasionally (though rarely) spoken of in Roman literature. Their use seems to have been quite exceptional as when Nero, for instance, had his mules shod with silver.61 In the lower part of Case 51 will be seen a series of iron shoes of the Roman period (No. 510; fig. 208), for the most part found in the south of France. It is impossible to believe that these were ever used as ordinary horse-shoes. The most plausible theory is that they were "hobbles," put on the feet of horses and other quadrupeds to prevent them straying. The upper part of this same Case contains sets of spurs (No. 511), most of them probably Roman. The arrangement for attaching the spurs to the heel varies. Two have loops formed by the head and neck of swans, three have discs or knobs, while another has holes for laces.