Shield of dreams
Iron Age warrior’s armour restored to glory after incredible find
IT’S been hailed as the most important British Celtic art object of the millennium.
This magnificent bronze shield, that 2,200 years ago belonged an Iron Age warrior, has just been restored.
It was among the treasures found when a warrior’s grave was unearthed. Archaeologists also uncovered his skeleton and chariot. There were also the skeletons of two upright horses positioned as if they were leaping from the ground.
The burial plot was found last year on the site of a large new housing estate at Pocklington, East Yorkshire.
As for the dead warrior, he is assumed to be someone of ‘real significance’.
Scientific testing has shown he was ‘at least 46 years of age’ and he died between 320BC and 174BC.
Archaeology chief Paula Ware said: ‘ He had some blunt force trauma on him but he probably survived that and lived to quite a good old age. What his role was I can’t tell you. He has collected some nice goodies along the way. He is definitely not run of the mill.’ The warrior was found in a crouched position
‘Signs of repairs can be seen’
in the cart of his chariot and laid to rest on top of the 30in shield – which has turned out to be a historic gem.
Conservation work has revealed a swirling design in the style known as La Tene with a central raised boss and highly unusual scalloped border.
‘The popular belief is that elaborate metalfaced shields were purely ceremonial, reflecting status, but not used in battle,’ said Miss Ware. ‘Our investigation challenges this with the evidence of a puncture wound in the shield typical of a sword.
‘Signs of repairs can also be seen, suggesting the shield was not only old, but likely to have been well-used.’ The team are also surprised that the horses in the grave had been buried upright – the first such discovery in Britain.
Although some have been unearthed in continental Europe, experts are baffled about how it was accomplished.
Miss Ware, director of MAP Archaeological Practice, said: ‘It’s remarkable, they must have had some mechanism to keep them upright. We have come up with all sorts of theories but we don’t know for definite how they did this.’ The grave was 4ft 3in deep and there was no ramp to put the horses in, she said.
The animals could have been buried alive or placed in the grave, ‘killed simultaneously’ and somehow held upright. Both horses were headless and experts believe the skeletons may have been decapitated by historical ploughing of the field.
The grave, known as a barrow, also included a highly decorated brooch and another indication of the dead man’s status were the remains of six pigs, believed to be a food offering.
Another nearby barrow contained the remains of a young man, between 17 and 25 years old, who had been ‘ritually speared’ with ten iron and bone spears, possibly to release his spirit.
The discovery follows the unearthing three years ago of another horse and chariot burial plot less than a mile away. On this occasion the two horses were laid alongside the chariot. The same archaeological team dug up more than 150 human skeletons.