Chariot burial
Encyclopedia
Chariot burials are tomb
s in which the deceased was buried together with his chariot
, usually including his (more rarely, her) horse
s and other possessions.
The earliest chariots known are from chariot burials of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in modern Russia
, clustering along the upper Tobol river, southeast of Magnitogorsk
, from around 2000 BC, containing spoke-wheeled chariots drawn by teams of two horses. This culture is at least partially derived from the earlier Yamna culture
, where some wagon-burials are found, and is generally accepted as an early Proto-Indo-Iranian culture. The Krivoye Ozero
chariot grave contained a horse skull, three pots, two bridle cheek pieces, and points of spears and arrows.
Later chariot
burials are found in China
. The most noted of these was discovered in 1933 at Hougang, Anyang in central China's Henan
Province, dating to the rule of King Wu Ding
of the Yin Dynasty (ca. 1200 BC). A Western Zhou
(9th century BC) chariot burial was unearthed at Zhangjiapo, Chang'an
in 1955.
In Europe, chariot burial was mainly an Iron Age
Celt
ic custom. A tomb from the 4th century BC was discovered in La Gorge-Meillet (Marne
, France
).
In Italy
, at the site of Sesto Calende
, south of Lake Maggiore
, were two chariot burials of the Golasecca culture
dating to the 7th and 6th century BC accompanied with weapons, ornaments and a large situla
while an earlier burial of the same culture, at Ca' Morta - Como
(c. 700 BC), included a four-wheeled wagon in the tomb. The only Etruscan
find dates to ca. 530 BC, and is preserved in pristine quality, see Etruscan chariot.
In England
, chariot burials are characteristic of, and almost confined to, the Iron Age
Arras culture
associated with the Parisii tribe. Finds of such burials are rare, and the persons interred were presumably chieftains or other wealthy notables. The Wetwang
chariot burial of ca. 300 BC
is an exception in that a woman was interred with the chariot. Some 21 British sites are known, spanning approximately four centuries, virtually all in the East Riding of Yorkshire
. The Ferrybridge and Newbridge
chariots are unusual in Britain as they are the only ones to be buried intact. The burial custom seems to have disappeared with the Roman
occupation of Britain
.
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
s in which the deceased was buried together with his chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
, usually including his (more rarely, her) horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and other possessions.
The earliest chariots known are from chariot burials of the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in modern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, clustering along the upper Tobol river, southeast of Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
, from around 2000 BC, containing spoke-wheeled chariots drawn by teams of two horses. This culture is at least partially derived from the earlier Yamna culture
Yamna culture
The Yamna culture is a late copper age/early Bronze Age culture of the Southern Bug/Dniester/Ural region , dating to the 36th–23rd centuries BC...
, where some wagon-burials are found, and is generally accepted as an early Proto-Indo-Iranian culture. The Krivoye Ozero
Krivoye Ozero
Krivoye Ozero is a small lake in the Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia, southeast of Magnitogorsk, near the Kazakhstani border. Its name is translated from the Russian as "Crooked Lake"....
chariot grave contained a horse skull, three pots, two bridle cheek pieces, and points of spears and arrows.
Later chariot
Chariot (Ancient China)
The ancient Chinese chariot was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of Ancient China during the Shang The ancient Chinese chariot was used as an attack and pursuit vehicle on the open fields and plains of Ancient China during the Shang The ancient Chinese chariot ...
burials are found in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. The most noted of these was discovered in 1933 at Hougang, Anyang in central China's Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Province, dating to the rule of King Wu Ding
Wu Ding
Wu Ding was a Shang Dynasty King of China.His is the first historically verifiable name in the history of Chinese dynasties...
of the Yin Dynasty (ca. 1200 BC). A Western Zhou
Western Zhou
The Western Zhōu period was the first half of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang Dynasty at the Battle of Muye. C.H...
(9th century BC) chariot burial was unearthed at Zhangjiapo, Chang'an
Chang'an
Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...
in 1955.
In Europe, chariot burial was mainly an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic custom. A tomb from the 4th century BC was discovered in La Gorge-Meillet (Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, at the site of Sesto Calende
Sesto Calende
Sesto Calende is a town and comune located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.It is located at the southern tip of Lake Maggiore, where the Ticino River starts to flow towards the Po River. The main historical sights is the Abbey of San Donato, built in the...
, south of Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
, were two chariot burials of the Golasecca culture
Golasecca culture
The Golasecca culture was a Celtic culture in northern Italy , whose type-site has been excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lombardy.-Archeological sources:...
dating to the 7th and 6th century BC accompanied with weapons, ornaments and a large situla
Situla
Situla is the Latin for bucket, and can mean* situla , a bucket-like vessel, usually of bronze in the Iron Age, and ivory in the Middle Ages* Kappa Aquarii, a star in the constellation Aquarius...
while an earlier burial of the same culture, at Ca' Morta - Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
(c. 700 BC), included a four-wheeled wagon in the tomb. The only Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
find dates to ca. 530 BC, and is preserved in pristine quality, see Etruscan chariot.
In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, chariot burials are characteristic of, and almost confined to, the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Arras culture
Arras Culture
The Arras culture is an archaeological culture of the Middle Iron Age in East Yorkshire It takes its name from the cemetery site of Arras near Market Weighton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which was discovered in the 19th century...
associated with the Parisii tribe. Finds of such burials are rare, and the persons interred were presumably chieftains or other wealthy notables. The Wetwang
Wetwang
Wetwang is a Yorkshire Wolds village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated west of Driffield on the A166 road....
chariot burial of ca. 300 BC
300 BC
Year 300 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Pansa...
is an exception in that a woman was interred with the chariot. Some 21 British sites are known, spanning approximately four centuries, virtually all in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
. The Ferrybridge and Newbridge
Newbridge chariot
The remains of an Iron Age chariot burial, were found near the Bronze burial mound of Huly Hill, at Newbridge, Scotland, 10 km west of Edinburgh in advance of development at the Edinburgh Interchange. The chariot was the first of its kind to be found in Scotland and shows Iron Age Scotland in...
chariots are unusual in Britain as they are the only ones to be buried intact. The burial custom seems to have disappeared with the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
occupation of Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
.
See also
- Ship burialShip burialA ship burial or boat grave is a burial in which a ship or boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods, or as a part of the grave goods itself. If the ship is very small, it is called a boat grave...
- Sun chariot
- Prehistoric BritainPrehistoric BritainFor the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
- The King's GraveThe King's GraveThe King's Grave near Kivik in the southeastern portion of the Swedish province of Skåne is what remains of an unusually grand Nordic Bronze Age double burial c...
- Newbridge chariotNewbridge chariotThe remains of an Iron Age chariot burial, were found near the Bronze burial mound of Huly Hill, at Newbridge, Scotland, 10 km west of Edinburgh in advance of development at the Edinburgh Interchange. The chariot was the first of its kind to be found in Scotland and shows Iron Age Scotland in...