File:Iron Age Harness Fitting (Possibly) (FindID 117341).jpg

English: An Iron Age ‘Horn Cap’. This is an enigmatic type of object as no one is clear what they were made for. Horn Caps, however, were almost certainly not made to fit on the end of the axle of an Iron Age chariot.

    There are probably only about 20 or so Horn Caps in Museums or private collections. They have only been found in Britain, and have never been found in other parts of Europe.  Horn Caps were made in the Middle and Late Iron Age (c.300 BC to AD 43), Several have been found with other Iron Age objects, and 4 other Horn Caps have decoration on their top surfaces.  Other than one example found at Llyn Cerig Bach on Anglesey, Horn Caps have only been found in southern England from Somerset to Norfolk.  Several examples were found at Ham Hill in Somerset and a number of others were found in different parts of the river Thames.  
     
    The shape and construction of this Horn Cap is similar to other examples.  It is made from several parts, cast separately in moulds and then put together.  The fine finish and perfectly circular section through out the object suggests that the models around which the mould was made was finished using a lath.  The decoration on the top of Horn Cap was cast as a separate piece.  The decoration consists of a symmetrical pattern of 4 scrolls each ending in triskele pattern.  Where back of each scroll meets are two small lozenges.  The design is executed in a clear line highlighted by lines of dots.  The design on this Horn Cap is similar to several other Early Celtic/La Tene designs on other British objects.
     
    This Horn Cap is unusual because there is a thick black resin substance around the inside of the shaft.  It is not clear what this substance is and there are no reports of a similar substance inside other Horn Caps.  It is probably a resin or glue that held the Horn Cap on a wooden pole or rod.  Similar resin or glue might have originally been used on other Horn Caps, but has decayed.  Scientific analysis is needed to establish what the black substance was originally made of.
     
    What Horn Caps were made for is still unclear.  In Victorian times it was thought that there were made to decorate on the ends of the axles of a chariot or wagon.  However, the size of the axle of an Iron Age chariot is too large to fit in the shaft of a Horn Cap.  The thin pole on which Horn Caps would fit would be very likely to be broken off if it were projecting out of the end of an axle.  Many archaeologists have struggled to explain what Horn Caps were made for.  Most have suggested that are parts of chariots, even if they have all agreed they are not axle ends.  Cyril Fox argued they were for decorating the ends of the yoke that stretched over the shoulders of the ponies pulling a chariot.   Alternatively, he thought that might be hand holds on the side of the chariot.  Another position suggested by Mansel Spratling is to decorate the end of the pole between the two ponies.  
     

There is, however, no concrete prove that Horn Caps have anything to do with chariots or wagons. Over 30 graves containing Iron Age chariots have now been found in England and Scotland, most in East Yorkshire. None of these chariots has a Horn Cap, although they are usually buried with all the other metal parts attached to the chariot and the horses’ harness. If Horn Caps were parts of used on British chariots, why have they not been found in any British grave containing a chariot? Because of this, it is likely that Horn Caps were probably not made to be part of a chariot at all. They may well have been used as the tops of staffs or ceremonial maces (J. D. Hill, Curator of the Iron Age, British Museum, 22/11/2005).