Excavating the sandy terrain of northern Scotland, researchers uncovered a rust-covered metallic artifact that was unfamiliar to them. This discovery proved to be an “uncommon” historical chariot wheel and a unprecedented finding of its kind.
A few years ago, archaeologists began digging at the location where Cabot Highlands, a planned golf course near Inverness, would be built. According to a statement from Avon Archaeology Highland sent to McClatchy News over email on April 23rd, they “found various historical artifacts that date back millennia.”
However, one artifact “seems to have surpassed all the other significant discoveries,” according to an email from the project’s lead archaeologist, Andy Young, shared with McClatchy News.
Young mentioned that the team discovered an old burial site containing “a limited quantity of rough ceramics,” some animal bones, and a portion of what seems to be a “chariot wheel tire.” An image reveals this uncommon chariot wheel, with roughly half of it still intact.
The archaeologists are awaiting the outcomes of the radiocarbon dating tests to ascertain the precise age of the wheel; however, they anticipate it originates from the Iron Age, which spans from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., according to Young. They wouldn’t find it surprising if the dates back to around 200 B.C., making it approximately 2,200 years old.
The old wheel is most likely a component of a burial gift, according to Young. Given that these wheels “were incredibly costly to produce…,” it suggests that the individual interred held significant importance.
The metal band “was crafted by a proficient blacksmith who combined numerous individual iron strips through forge welding on an anvil to create the tire,” explained Young. This was then placed onto the wooden wheel by heating it until hot and quickly cooling it for a tight fit. According to him, this band would encircle the exterior part of the wooden wheel.
“There were likely two original chariot wheels, with one possibly having been lost due to modern plowing,” he explained.
“To tell you the truth, we couldn’t identify what it was initially (this is the first verified instance discovered in Highland Scotland, and none of us on the team, including myself, had ever excavated one before!)—once we realized, everyone’s mouths fell open!” Young stated.
The excavations at the prospective golf course site revealed numerous “ancient timber structures,” stone implements, a “prehistoric ritualistic ring” and trenches originating from a medieval village, according to archaeologists. Images depict some of these findings.
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“This has been an extraordinary voyage spanning from prehistoric eras all the way to today, happening right at our doorstep,” Stuart McColm, who serves as Cabot’s vice president of golf development, stated in the announcement.
Inverness is located in the Scottish Highlands, close to the famous Loch Ness, and is approximately a 160-mile drive northwest from Edinburgh.
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