A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 1950–1880 BCE and are depicted on cylinder seals from Central Anatolia in Kültepe dated to c. 1900 BCE. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel.
The Urnfield culture was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns, which were then buried in fields. The first usage of the name occurred in publications over grave sites in southern Germany in the late 19th century. Over much of Europe, the Urnfield culture followed the Tumulus culture and was succeeded by the Hallstatt culture. Some linguists and archaeologists have associated this culture with the pre-Celtic language, or a Proto-Celtic language family.
Duggleby Howe is one of the largest round barrows in Britain, located on the southern side of the Great Wold Valley in the district of Ryedale, and is one of four such monuments in this area, known collectively as the Great barrows of East Yorkshire. Duggleby Howe is believed on the basis of artefacts recovered to be of Late Neolithic date, but no radiocarbon dates are available. Howe as a place name is believed to have originated from the Old Norse word haugr.
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches would have served defensive purposes poorly, henges are not considered to have been defensive constructions. The three henge types are as follows, with the figure in brackets being the approximate diameter of the central flat area:
- Henge. The word henge refers to a particular type of earthwork of the Neolithic period, typically consisting of a roughly circular or oval-shaped bank with an internal ditch surrounding a central flat area of more than 20 m (66 ft) in diameter. There is typically little if any evidence of occupation in a henge, although they may contain ritual structures such as stone circles, timber circles and coves. Henge monument is sometimes used as a synonym for henge. Henges sometimes, but by no means always, featured stone or timber circles, and circle henge is sometimes used to describe these structures. The three largest stone circles in Britain are each within a henge. Examples of henges without significant internal monuments are the three henges of Thornborough Henges. Although having given its name to the word henge, Stonehenge is atypical in that the ditch is outside the main earthwork bank.
- Hengiform monument. Like an ordinary henge, except the central flat area is between 5 and 20 m (16–66 ft) in diameter, they comprise a modest earthwork with a fairly wide outer bank. The terms Mini henge or Dorchester henge are sometimes used as synonyms for hengiform monument. An example is the Neolithic site at Wormy Hillock Henge.
- Henge enclosure. A Neolithic ring earthwork with the ditch inside the bank, with the central flat area having abundant evidence of occupation and usually being more than 300 m (980 ft) in diameter. Some true henges are as large as this, but lack evidence of domestic occupation. Super henge is sometimes used as a synonym for a henge enclosure. However, sometimes Super henge is used to indicate size alone rather than use, e.g. "Marden henge ... is the least understood of the four British 'superhenges' ".
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of Late Bronze Age from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe from the 8th to 6th centuries BC, developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of its area by the La Tène culture. It is commonly associated with Proto-Celtic speaking populations.
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, which had an independent Iron Age culture of its own. The parallel phase of Irish archaeology is termed the Irish Iron Age. The Iron Age is not an archaeological horizon of common artefacts but is rather a locally-diverse cultural phase.
The Arras culture is an archaeological culture of the Middle Iron Age in East Yorkshire, England. It takes its name from the cemetery site of Arras, at Arras Farm, (53.86°N 0.59°W) near Market Weighton, which was discovered in the 19th century. The site spans three fields, bisected by the main east-west road between Market Weighton and Beverley, and is arable farmland; little to no remains are visible above ground. The extent of the Arras culture is loosely associated with the Parisi tribe of pre-Roman Britain.
Chariot burials are tombs in which the deceased was buried together with their chariot, usually including their horses and other possessions. An instance of a person being buried with their horse is called horse burial.
Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications, a huge Iron Age hill fort, sometimes but not always considered an oppidum, comprising over 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of ditches and ramparts enclosing approximately 300 hectares of land, are situated in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England. Whether Stanwick was the stronghold of Venutius or Cartimandua, or perhaps of them both for a brief time before their acrimonious split some time after 51 AD, it is certain that this settlement was one of the most important in Brigantia, the Brigantes kingdom during the early stages of the Roman occupation of Britain. The site is a scheduled monument.
The Parisi were a British Celtic tribe located somewhere within the present-day East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, known from a single brief reference by Ptolemy in his Geographica of about AD 150. Many writers have connected them with the archaeological Arras culture and some with the more widely known Parisii of Gaul.
Ferrybridge Henge is a Neolithic henge near Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire. It is close to the A1 and M62 and Ferrybridge power station. Ferrybridge Henge is the furthest south of Yorkshire's henges, and is the only one in West Yorkshire. The site is of national importance and is protected from unauthorised change as a Scheduled Ancient Monument; despite this it is under threat from ploughing.
The remains of an Iron Age chariot burial were found near the Bronze Age burial mound at Huly Hill, Newbridge in Scotland, 14 km west of Edinburgh city centre, 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 direct contact with the European Continent. The Newbridge chariot was buried intact, a method consistent with the burial practices of Continental Europe rather than Scotland.
Burial in Anglo-Saxon England refers to the grave and burial customs followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the mid 5th and 11th centuries CE in Early Mediaeval England. The variation of the practice performed by the Anglo-Saxon peoples during this period, included the use of both cremation and inhumation. There is a commonality in the burial places between the rich and poor – their resting places sit alongside one another in shared cemeteries. Both of these forms of burial were typically accompanied by grave goods, which included food, jewelry, and weaponry. The actual burials themselves, whether of cremated or inhumed remains, were placed in a variety of sites, including in cemeteries, burial mounds or, more rarely, in ship burials.
Sigwells is a hamlet located in an area rich in archaeology remains, overlooking Cadbury Castle in Somerset, England.
An Anglo-Saxon burial mound is an accumulation of earth and stones erected over a grave or crypt during the late sixth and seventh centuries AD in Anglo-Saxon England. These burial mounds are also known as barrows or tumuli.
Danes Graves is an archaeological site in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It forms part of the Arras Culture of inhumation and chariot burial prevalent in the region during the British Iron Age. It is a prehistoric cemetery site situated in Danesdale – a dry river valley with gravel and chalk deposits. The site is north of Driffield near the village of Kilham.
Burton Fleming is an Iron Age archaeological site from the Arras culture of East Yorkshire. The site is named from the parish of Burton Fleming within which the Iron Age cemetery lies, and is closely associated with the Iron Age barrows at Rudston.
The Kirkburn Burial is an Iron Age warrior burial dating from 250 BC–160 BC, discovered at Kirkburn, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The burial was uncovered in an archaeological dig in 1987.
The Pocklington Iron Age burial ground is a prehistoric cemetery discovered in 2014 on the outskirts of Pocklington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Excavations carried out on an ongoing basis since then, have uncovered more than 160 skeletons and more than 70 square barrows thought to date to the Middle Iron Age that are attributed to the Arras culture, an ancient British culture of East Yorkshire. A variety of grave goods have been found along with the human remains, including weapons, beads, pots, and a rare chariot burial.
Pexton Moor is an archaeological site in North Yorkshire containing a prehistoric cemetery. It is located at the western edge of Dalby Forest, north of Thornton-le-Dale. It forms part of the Arras Culture of inhumation and chariot burial prevalent in the region during the British Iron Age.
