Scottish Iron Age Chariot proves link with Europe
Archaeologists studying an ancient chariot burial have found evidence that Iron Age Scots had far closer ties with Europe than previously thought.
Experts examining the unprecedented find at Newbridge, west of Edinburgh, have proved it is the oldest chariot in the UK and uncovered great similarities between the vehicle and associated burial rites found on the Continent, indicating a close familiarity with mainland European practices. Dr Stephen Carter, director of Headland Archaeology of Edinburgh, and Fraser Hunter of the department of archaeology at the National Museums of Scotland, also confirmed many more chariot burials may be dotted around Scotland.
The Newbridge find, which has been described as the "Ferrari of the Iron Age", is the first chariot burial to be found in Britain outside of East Yorkshire and has been carbon-dated to around 570-370 BC. Dr Carter said: "We are stressing the continental connection because the Yorkshire burial rites were significantly different. There, they dismantled the chariot and placed the person in or under the body of the vehicle. In the Newbridge burial, the rite was identical to the ones carried out in Belgium and France, where the complete vehicle was buried.
He explained the significance of the discovery, which could transform historians' view of Iron Age Britons. "Scotland is often seen as being at the fringe of Iron Age Europe, cut off from the mainstream. This evidence reminds us that there were great connections between Scotland and Europe in prehistory, especially by sea," Dr Carter said.
The Celtic chariot, or cart, was unearthed at a building site close to the M8 in Edinburgh in 2001. It is in a condition never seen before in the UK, with its metal fittings intact after thousands of years. Excavations showed wheels 0.8 metres in diameter, an axle of 1.4 metres, and a pole extending from the axle measuring three metres, although the wooden chassis has disintegrated. The lack of distinctive European suspension fittings indicates that the Newbridge chariot is a British vehicle and not an import. Work on the chariot has shown that Scotland at the time was a fully integral part of the Celtic culture dominant in north-west Europe.
Source: The Herald (25 September 2003)
Change of diet during the Neolithic
Prehistoric man swapped a diet of fish for meat and vegetables as soon as the opportunity arose, according to researchers at Bradford. "In Britain it happened very quickly, in a generation or two," team leader Michael Richards said. "We had expected to find a gradual switchover, but this was a virtual dietary revolution."
Richards' team studied dietary change during the Neolithic period between 5,200 and 4,500 years ago, using stable carbon isotopes present in bone to assess how the rate of change coincided with the emergence of domesticated plants and animals from one based purely on opportunistic hunting. The researchers found there was a rapid and complete change from a marine- to a terrestrial-based diet among both coastal and inland dwellers at the onset of the Neolithic period. This argues against a slow, gradual adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry by Mesolithic societies and the results indicate that the attraction of the new farming lifestyle must have been strong enough to persuade even coastal dwellers to abandon their successful fishing practices.
The research team published the results in the science journal Nature. "Out went the marine foods and instead we find a wholesale switch to other meats," Richards said.
Sources: New York Post (24 September 2003), Nature (25 September 2003)
