Use the news: Ancient chariot discovery

Lesson for grades 5-8

In the ancient Roman Empire, chariots were used for battles, travel, parades, races and other competitions.

Pulled by horses they could be simple in design or very elaborate.

One of the more elaborate examples ever found has been discovered in the Italian city of Pompeii, where it had been buried for nearly 2,000 years under volcanic ash.

Pompeii was famously destroyed in the year 79 C.E., when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted.

The newly discovered chariot was a four-wheeled ceremonial vehicle, with iron and bronze decorations on its wooden frame.

It was found in a covered portico outside a stable where the remains of three horses were previously found under the ash.

Officials said the find is the first ceremonial chariot unearthed in its entirety and “an exceptional discovery.”

Archaeological digs often unearth materials that offer new information about the way people lived or worked in the past.

A detail of the decoration of a chariot, with its iron elements, bronze decorations and mineralized wooden remains, that was found in Civita

Giuliana, north of Pompeii. Officials at the Pompeii archaeological site near Naples on Saturday, Feb.

27, 2021, announced the first-ever discovery of an intact ceremonial chariot, one of several important discoveries made in the same area outside the park following an investigation into an illegal dig.

Activity: In the newspaper or online, find and closely read a story about such a dig. Use what you read to write a paragraph detailing how the dig was done, what it discovered and why that is important to archaeologists. Draw an illustration to go with your paragraph.