Two bronze mules dating back to the ancient Roman times were discovered during excavations in the former barracks of the Guardia Civil in Tarragona, Spain.

They mules were made through a lost-wax casting technique. Their eyes and mouths are opened and their bodies are decorated with different ornaments, including a collar with a leather and panther head and some triangular pendants attached to the temples. Both finds are believed to date from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. They are believed to be a part of a lectus tricliniaris, a kind of bed that the Romans used to eat. The mules are believed to have been decorative elements of their backs, called the fulcra.

(after il Fatto Storico & Ajuntament de Tarragona)