Chariot from 500BC
On a Yorkshire housing estate, a relic from the Iron Age
ALL that remains of them is a pair of skeletons and the trace of a wheel.
But these rare remnants of two horses and a chariot, unearthed in Yorkshire, could shed light on an ancient British warrior culture which valued the animals during life – and death.
Dating back 2,500 years to the Iron Age period, the horses and chariot may have been buried with their high-status owner to help speed him into the afterlife.
The astonishing discovery – the first of its kind for 200 years – was made by archaeologists who were called to examine a burial site at a housing development in Pocklington, near York.
The find, from 500BC, was described as being of ‘international significance’, and experts said it will increase understanding of the Arras culture, a people who were native to East Yorkshire.
Their unique graves are known as barrows, where the dead would be laid to rest with disassembled chariots. The horses and chariot were found at an ancient burial site that t has been studied for three years and has yielded an incredible number of finds.
Some 75 barrows have been dug up there, unearthing 150 human skeletons and their possessions – including perhaps, the owner of the horses and chariot – as well as swords, brooches and pots.
A major research project based on the excavation is likely to unlock more secrets from the dark recesses of history, long before the Roman occupation.
The Iron Age owner of the horses and chariot would have lived dur- ing a violent time,time with rival clans constantly clashing.
By 500BC, Britons had been using iron for about 300 years but its use only became widespread around this time, and it was made into lethal weapons for tribal warfare.
However, the Britons were also sophisticated farmers, growing new types of crops and vegetables, inclusing barley and wheat. They herded geese, goats, pigs, cows and flocks of sheep.
While most would have farmed, some worked as potters, carpen- ters and metalwo metalworkers – and some, of course, trained as warriors. Other advances at this time included the introduction of the potter’s wheel and the rotary quern for grinding grain.
These new foods and developments contributed to a population boom, and the number of the country’s inhabitants probably exceeded one million.
Communities lived in hill forts, which were surrounded by walls and ditches in order to fend off attacks from rival tribes.
Families lived in round, one- roomed houses with thatched roofs and walls made from a mixture of mud and twigs.
In the centre were fires where meals were cooked, and beds were made from straw covered with animal skins.
In this pre-Christian era, pagan worshippers venerated spirits in places they believed to be sacred, such as lakes and woods.
In fact, the experts at Pocklington believe that the burial of horses and chariots by the Arras culture may be connected to particular spiritual or funeral rites.
Head archaeologist Paula Ware, of MAP Archaeological Practice, said the chariot was only the 26th to be excavated in the country.
She said: ‘The archive of the excavations and the conservation of the artefacts will preserve the results for the benefit of future generations.’
Builders will take over again as the next phase of the housing development begins next week, but the relics will be carefully removed and kept in the area.