June 2005 - News

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Ancient Chariot Revelations

Archaeological research being carried out at the University of Bradford and by Oxford Archaeology on the Iron Age chariot discovered near the A1 has shed light on some fascinating historical details.

Interim results from the ongoing analysis about the rare and internationally significant Iron Age chariot burial at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire were published earlier this year.

PhD reseach student Anthony Swiss examines part of the hub of the 2,400 year old chariot

The chariot and its occupant - one of only 21 found in the UK - were found to be 2,400 years old and were buried in a mound surrounded by a ditch at a site of enormous religious importance in the fourth century BC.

This method of burying very important people was part of the Arras culture found in East Yorkshire and France.

But strontium tests, which can reveal where a person was born, found the man came from much further afield - possibly Scandinavia or the Highlands of Scotland.

A massive haul of cattle bones was found next to the burial site which archaeologists initially thought were the remnants of a feast held in the dead man's honour. But the bones were found to be around 500 years younger than the dead man - suggesting the feast was actually held as the Romans were establishing themselves in the area at the end of the first century AD.

Researchers were able to work out that around 300 cattle were brought and sacrificed at the feast - suggesting a huge gathering. Janet Montgomery, archaeological Research Fellow at the University of Bradford, said: "None of the cattle we analysed were local and none were from the same herd. They appear to have come from all over.

"The charioteer and some of the cattle have strontium ratios higher than anything we've seen before in Great Britain, which suggests they were raised in regions of very old rocks such as those found in Scotland, Scandinavia and Brittany. Further tests are being carried out at Bradford by doctoral researcher Vaughan Grimes to try and rule out some of these places.

"Although it is impossible to say whether the hundreds of people who gathered in Ferrybridge for the feast knew the identity of the man buried on his chariot, they could have been aware that someone of importance had been buried at that exact location."

Research has suggested the man was 5ft 9ins tall, had a very good diet and, although he died in his 30s, he did not meet a violent end.

The original find was made in December 2003 during excavations for the £245 million scheme to upgrade the A1 to motorway standard between Darrington and Dishforth in North and West Yorkshire.

Angela Boyle, the archaeologist who directed the six-week dig carried out by Oxford Archaeology, said she believed the gathering - one of the largest ever to have taken place in the UK at that time - was likely to be a reassertion of the rights of worship and identity of native tribes in the face of increasing Romanisation.

Angela said: "This is one of the most significant Iron Age burials ever found. It is extremely unusual to find an intact chariot burial of this type, in such an unparalleled state of preservation."

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15 June 2005

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