Rare Discovery

Archaeologists excavating an Iron Age fort in Burrough Hill, England say they were astonished by the discovery of a bronze chariot believed to date back to the 2nd or 3rd century B.C.

In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. 

The adoption of this material often coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.

In history, the Iron Age is the last principal period in the three-age system for classifying prehistoric societies, preceded by Bronze Age.

Its date and context vary depending on the country or geographical region.

No firm ending date is set for the Iron Age in any particular society; there is simply a point where archaeology becomes less important than surviving history and traditions. 

Iron alloys remain popular as the steels in most metallic objects.

Classically, the Iron Age is taken to begin in the 12th century BCE in the ancient Near East, ancient Iran, ancient India, and ancient Greece. 

In other regions of Europe, it started much later, while in central Anatolia it started earlier: The Hittites used the first iron in the 14th century BCE.

The Iron Age began in the 8th century BCE in central Europe and the 6th century BCE in northern Europe. The Iron Age is usually said to end in the Mediterranean with the onset of historical tradition during Hellenism and the Roman Empire, and in Northern Europe with the early Middle Ages.

“The atmosphere at the dig on the day was a mix of ‘tremendously excited’ and ‘slightly shell-shocked,’" Dr. Jeremy Taylor, a lecturer in landscape archaeology at the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and co-director of the Burrough Hill field project, said in a written statement. 

"I have been excavating for 25 years and I have never found one of these pieces--let alone a whole set. It is a once-in-a-career discovery."

Taylor's remarks come as the chariot, found in several pieces last year, is set to go on display at Melton Carnegie Museum in Leicestershire, England. The exhibit will run from Oct. 18 to Dec. 13.

Taylor and his team have been digging at the site since 2010, with students and volunteers joining in. Four students unearthed the first piece of bronze in a deep pit near the remains of a house, later discovering the other pieces of the chariot.

The archaeologists believe the chariot could have belonged to a high-status “noble” or “warrior," and that it was dismantled and buried as part of a religious offering.

“Realizing that I was actually uncovering a hoard that was carefully placed there hundreds of years ago made it the find of a lifetime," Nora Battermann, one of the students who made the discovery, said in the statement.

"Looking at the objects now [that] they have been cleaned makes me even more proud, and I can’t wait for them to go on display."