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2,500-Year-Old Celtic Chariot Proves Iron Age Links with Mainland Europe

2,500-Year-Old Celtic Chariot Proves Iron Age Links with Mainland Europe

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The Newbridge Chariot is the name given to the remains of a Celtic chariot found in Edinburgh, Scotland. The burial is found to date to around the 5 th century B.C., hence placing it in the Iron Age. The Newbridge Chariot is significant as it is the first of its kind to be unearthed in Scotland and it may suggest that Iron Age Scots had closer ties with Europe that previously thought. It has been speculated that this chariot is associated with a burial, and that someone of a high status was buried near the place where the chariot was discovered.

The construction of the new Edinburgh Interchange was planned to begin in 2001. Before the building work could be undertaken at the site, however, an archaeological excavation of the area had to be carried out, as ordered by the Edinburgh City Council. This was due to the fact that the construction site was located near Huly Hill, a Bronze Age burial cairn with three standing stones, at Newbridge, several km to the west of Edinburgh city centre, and close to Edinburgh Airport. The excavation of the site was carried out by archaeologists from Headland Archaeology and the National Museum of Scotland.

The Newbridge Chariot was discovered during an archaeological investigation ahead of the construction of the Edinburgh Interchange, picture

The Newbridge Chariot was discovered during an archaeological investigation ahead of the construction of the Edinburgh Interchange, picture (CC by SA 2.0 / Derek Ferris)

It was during this excavation, in March 2001, that the Newbridge Chariot was unearthed. This discovery was completely unexpected, and was a great surprise to the archaeologists, as it was the first Iron Age chariot to have been found in Scotland.

Chariots were recorded by Roman writers to have been used by Celtic warriors in warfare. Each chariot consisted of a cart pulled by a pair of horses and manned by a team of two, a driver and a warrior. One of the tactics used by the chariot teams was as a sort of transport for the warrior. The chariot would be driven into the battlefield and the warrior would dismount to fight as an infantryman. When the warrior became tired, he could get back onto the chariot and leave the battle. Another tactic used was for the chariot to move around the battlefield, whence javelins would be thrown at the enemy. The loud noises made by the chariots were also said to have intimidated the enemy.

Celtic warriors riding a chariot

Celtic warriors riding a chariot (CC 3.0)

Initially, the Newbridge Chariot was thought to date to around 250 B.C. The tyres / outsides of the chariot’s wheels were made of iron, and, as a result of corrosion, some fragments of wood from the wheels were preserved. These were found during the excavation of the wheel in the laboratory, and were used to provide a radiocarbon date for the vehicle. The result of this analysis suggests that the chariot was built between 475 and 380 B.C., making it the oldest chariot to have been found the Britain.

The iron tyres also enabled the chariot wheels to be reconstructed accurately, as the position and shape of the wheels were preserved. Further information about the chariot that was gathered from the excavation enabled a complete reconstruction of the Newbridge Chariot to be made in 2007. This replica is now in the possession of the National Museums Scotland.

The Newbridge Chariot also provides some information about the Celts living in Scotland and those living in other parts of Europe. For example, some technical details, such as the way the wheels were made and the lack of suspension fittings suggest that the Newbridge Chariot was different from its European counterparts. However, the way the chariot had been buried in Newbridge was identical to the ones carried out in Belgium and France, where the complete cart was buried.

"Scotland is often seen as being at the fringe of Iron Age Europe, cut off from the mainstream,” said Dr Stephen Carter, Director of Headland Archaeology of Edinburgh [via The Megalithic Portal]. “This evidence reminds us that there were great connections between Scotland and Europe in prehistory, especially by sea."

Top image: A reconstruction of the Newbridge Chariot. Credit: National Museum of Scotland

By Wu Mingren

References

AncientMilitary.com, 2012. Celtic Warriors. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ancientmilitary.com/celtic-warriors.htm

Education Scotland, 2016. Newbridge chariot. [Online]
Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/caledonianspictsromans/newbridgechariot/index.asp

Fisher, S., 2009. Chariots in Pictish Art. [Online]
Available at: http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/pictish-chariot.html

Hellier, C., 2001. Chariots of the Celts. [Online]
Available at: http://archive.archaeology.org/0107/newsbriefs/celts.html

National Museums Scotland, 2016. Newbridge chariot reconstruction. [Online]
Available at: http://www.nms.ac.uk/explore/stories/scottish-history-and-archaeology/newbridge-chariot-reconstruction/

The BBC, 2001. Ancient chariot found in Edinburgh. [Online]
Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/1215962.stm

The Megalithic Portal, 2003. Chariot proves Iron Age links with Europe [Online]

Available at: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146411119

 

Comments

Celts and Gauls both have Greek origin. Britain got it's name from Brutus who had Trojan (Troy) roots. I am just telling the ancient bit. Later how much cultural, social exchange happened and what is the real status of Scotland now..hard to say.

Where do these self-centred people reckon the English and Welsh Celts came from? Scotland was and is a backwater. We are all just Brits who all spoke Brythonic until the Caledonian natives were conquered and ethnically cleansed by the invading Q-Celtic speaking Irish invaders called "Scots".

I really like how the experimental archeologists brought to life how the wheel was made compressed. This would help anyone who wanted to build a wagon wheel for themselves. I am definatly saving this video.

Troy Mobley

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Wu

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

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