Since 2010, volunteers and students from the University of Leicester’s school of Archeology have been excavating Burrough Hill. The site, potentially, houses artifacts from hundreds of years of British History some of which is shrouded in mystery.

Earlier this month a group of students unearthed a horde of artifacts, deliberately buried at the site in the 2nd or 3rd century BCE. Most notable among the artifacts were bronze fittings from an mid to late iron age chariot.

The chariot fittings appear to have been placed in a box and burnt as part of some type of rituals. The researchers believe that the offering may have been made to mark a new season or the dismantling of a house at the fort. It is likely that the owner of the chariot would have been a warrior, a noble or some other high status individual.

“Realising that I was actually uncovering a hoard that was carefully placed there hundreds of years ago made it the find of a lifetime.  Looking at the objects now they have been cleaned makes me even more proud, and I can’t wait for them to go on display,” said Nora Battermann, one of the students involved in the dig in a statement.

In addition to the chariot fittings, other tools were found which are believed to have been used for horse grooming.

“The function of the iron tools is a bit of a mystery, but given the equestrian nature of the hoard, it is possible that they were associated with horse grooming.  One piece in particular has characteristics of a modern curry comb, while two curved blades may have been used to maintain horses hooves or manufacture harness parts,” said John Thomas, co-director of the project.

From, approximately, the 1st to 4th centuries CE it was held by the Romans but it is not clear who built the original fort or why. Hill forts began appearing in in England at roughly the start of the of the first millennium BCE. Some believe that they were built in response to invasions from the European continent, others believe that they were built by the invaders themselves and still others believe that they were built as a response to social tensions.

Since it became geographically separated from mainland Europe around 5600 BCE, the British Isles have been invaded multiple times. Most notably by the Romans, various Germanic Tribes including the Angles and Saxons and the Vikings. All of these, however, happened after 55 BCE. This means that about two centuries separate the Burrough Hill artifacts from the first Roman invasion.

The researchers report that, after careful cleaning, the decorative patterns on the metalwork are similar to those found on a flag on the Isle of Man. Further comparisons may help to reveal who inhabited the ancient hill fort and why they felt that it was necessary.