2000/2/5
This yoke is part of an ard which was originally collected by the donor in Gravina in Puglia, in the Italian Province of Bari, in the 1970s. An ard is a simple type of plough that has no mouldboard or coulter. The yoke runs perpendicular to the rest of the ard, and is a curved and heavy piece of wood to which oxen are hitched. There are two sets of a holes for ox collars and one metal hook hook on the centre where the yoke beam would be fixed.
Physical description
1 ard yoke: wood
Archival history
MERL 'Handwritten accession' form (Museum of English Rural Life) – 'Ard // Description // SOLE ART - ITALIAN TYPE // A long wooden ard consisting of several parts as follows: // 1. Sole with 2 side wings - wood - L. 103cm W.at wings 32cm // 2. Stilt - curved from The Sole - wood - L. 100cm W. at base 13cm // Hand grip through hole at end 30cm long. Also 2nd hole // 3. Plough beam goes through the stilt + held in place with a peg. Heavy - approx 250cm. Supported from sole with 41cm long piece of wood. // 4 Yoke beam: joined to plough beam by means of iron band and 2 wooden pegs. Broken at this point. // The yoke beam is thinner + curved - 173cm long and has 3 holes in it. // 5 Yoke: curved + heavyy piece of wood with 2 sets of holes for ox collars + one metal hook in the centre where the yoke beam would be fixed. // 6. a) One conical, pointed, socketed iron share with pin hole. 64cm long. [no hole in the Sole] // b) One flat pointed iron share with side flanges - L. 38cm. // [see 2000/3] // References // K.D.WHITE "Agricultural Implements of The Roman World" // MERL 3630 p126. [Also see photographs] // P DX 1097 // See attached correspondence // 1. The ARD comes from GRAVINA di PUGLIA - or nearby in the heel of ITALY. Collected in 1970s. // 2. The arrow shaped plough share was bought in BODRUM in S.W.TURKEY at the same time. // A modern piece of wrought iron work. 2000/3'