In a major find for pre-Roman British culture, archaeologists from the University of Leicester have recently discovered the well-preserved remains of a Celtic bronze chariot. 

Digging at the Burrough Hill Iron Age hillfort, near Melton Mowbray in Leicester, the university team found a set of bronze fittings dating from the 2nd or 3rd century B.C. It is thought that the chariot parts were initially buried as part of a religious offering.

The University of Leicester has been leading digs at the location since 2010, opening up the premise to both volunteers and students. Burrough Hill is part of the school’s property and is founded by the Ernest Cook Trust, which also provides education and student visits on behalf of the historical site.

Students excavating a pit close to the remains of a house found the matching bronze fittings. The items were quickly identified with excitement by Dr. Jeremy Taylor, the University of Leicester’s Lecturer in Landscape Archaeology at the School of Archaeology and Ancient History.

Once the bronze fittings were cleaned, they were found to display a highly detailed triskele motif with three wavy lines. Also found nearby were a set of iron tools possibly used for horse grooming, although archaeologists are still not exactly sure of their exact purpose.

“It looks like it was a matching set of parts that was collected and placed in a box as an offering, before being placed in the ground,” said dig co-director John Thomas. “Iron tools were placed around the box before it was then burnt, and covered in a thick layer of cinder and slag.”

Archaeologists, students, and volunteers were all elated to hear about the findings. According to Dr. Taylor, “This is the most remarkable discovery of material we made at the Burrough Hill in the five years we worked on the site. This is a very rare discovery, and a strong sign of the prestige on the site.”