Wellmann Imre szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1971-1972 (Budapest, 1973)
Fenton, Alexander: Early yoke types in Britain
The second yoke (Fig. 1. 8) in this category is the well known one from Dungannon in Northern Ireland, previously discussed by Professor PIGGOTT 1 *' and Professor JACOBEIT. 17 In this case there are circular, horizontal openings at either side of the neckpieces. This yoke, as a whole, is extremely well1 shaped and has distinct analogies with yokes of the La-Tène and Hallstatt pe^ riods. The broad neckpieces protrude symmetrically front and back, which is unusual for a head yoke, and the question of whether or not this is a yoke for a pair of horses must remain open. Next comes a group of four yokes, three from Ireland (Fig. 1, 9—11), and one from Scotland (not illustrated). The latter is shaped, but has no openings cut in it and is, therefore, not ready for use. All four have deep, narrow neckpieces: The Irish examples each have an oval opening for the beam or pole lashings, horizontal openings on the inner sides of the neckpieces, and vertical openings in the outer terminals. In the long ridge above the neckpieces or just to one side there is a further pair of horizontal openings, which may be explained by comparison with the Swedish withers yokes that have openings or attachment points at these positions for extra ropes or thongs going round the horns. If this is so, then this group of four yokes was intended for ox-draught. All are deep and heavy, and measure from 110—120 cm. in length. Finally, there is a yoke from Mayo in Ireland, one end of which has been broken off. It can be established from the remaining part, however, that it originally measured 213 cm. long, i.e. about twice as long as other early British yokes. In order to understand this yoke better, it is first necessary to make a journey to the Northern Isles of Scotland. Here, during ploughing, the oxen were yoked side by side, four at a time. The inner pair were linked by a short yoke; and walked half a metre behind the outer pair, which were linked by a long yoke. The middle points of the long and short yokes were joined by a length of thong or rope, to which the draught rope was attached. This system survived at least till the end of the eighteenth century. Its earlier history in the Northern Isles is not directly known, but there is documentary evidence for an equivalent form of yoking in tenth century Wales. In the old Welsh Laws, ox yokes of different lengths are discussed — 122, 244, 366, and 488 cm. The first two lengths equate with the short and long yokes of the Northern Isles of Scotland. The others were for teams of six and eight animals side by side. Teams of these sizes, arranged in this way, have also been recorded on the Scottish Mainland in the eighteenth century. There is, therefore, plenty of evidence to suggest that the Irish yoke was also used with a team of four oxen, and it is further of interest to note that the three-ridged neckpiece has analogies in the La Tène and Hallstatt periods. Even if the yoke is not quite as early as that, it must still be early, and with it, possibly, the method of arranging a draught team four abreast. This withers yoke has vertical openings in the outer terminals, and a small hole above the neckpiece to which a horn-thong was no doubt attached. 16 PIGGOTT, S. An Iron Age Yoke from Northern Ireland. Proceedings of thePrehistoric Society XV: 1949. 192—193. 17 JACOBEIT, W. Ein eisenzeitliches Joch aus Nordirland. EthnographischArchäologische Forschungen I. 1953. 95—97.
