Garton Chariot reconstruction

The following information is based on a publication from the Archaeological Museum of Kingston upon Hull

This diagram gives the layout and positioning of all the major parts and
fittings on a Celtic chariot as found in British graves.

The chariot had been dismantled for burial, the poles had broken into two parts, not only to fit into the grave, but probably broken deliberately as part of the ritual associated with the burial. The remains of the wheels were located at the southern end of the grave and laid on the eastern and western sides. The body had been placed on the top of them in a flexed position with the head facing east. There was no sign whatsoever of the body work or chassis of the chariot, although fragments of bronze edging, which had been originally mounted on wood, survived above the wheels and skeleton in the damper, looser fill.

It is doubtful whether any traces of coachwork could have survived above the chariot in the loose and moist soil. Scattered around the wheels and the skeleton, chiefly on the western side and on the same level as the tyres, were two bronze terrets, a whip pommel and ferrules, and a slip buckle off the ponies' harness. Three terrets and a slip buckle lay beneath the wheels at a slightly lower level but there were no traces of a yoke.

The broader and thicker part of the pole-shaft lay along the axis of the grave. The other piece, consisting of the narrower end, lay along the southern edge of the grave with an iron pole cap on the tip. This had been secured by two nails driven into the pole. A metal pin was formerly slotted through the pole cap slot and pole to secure it to the yoke which had not survived for one reason or another.

No surviving evidence for a wooden yoke was apparent in the bottom of the grave, but the stain traces or imprints of wood of the yoke may have decayed away in the loose soil fallen on the wheels. It is peculiar that no traces of a yoke survived. The answer may lie in one of the following suggestions:

While among the first three suggestions may rest the answer to the problem of the missing yoke at Garton Slack, the fourth suggestion seems highly unlikely before the introduction to Europe of the horse collar nearly a thousand years later. In any case nearly all known classical and Celtic illustrations of chariots show a breast strap, body girth and high front pole, level, or often above, the shoulders of the horse. In most instances a yoke is clearly depicted or indicated. Without doubt the chariot must have been harnessed to the ponies by means of a pole-shaft and a solid yoke, the latter resting on the shoulders of the ponies, and secured to them by a body girth behind the forelegs and a breast band. This would have prevented movement of the yoke thrust forward or pulled back by the chariot, via the pole, when going downhill or pulling up.

Attached to the rope in the same manner and placed on the animal's shoulders must have been a broad chest-band which enabled the ponies to haul the vehicle without strangulation as the weight of the chariot cannot have been excessive. In later times, under the Roman laws of Diocletian, it was a serious offence for a horse, mule or pony to haul more than 500 kilograms on level ground as the threat of strangulation and heart failure was caused by the pressure of the breast-band which hindered breathing'.

The chariot belongs to the Arras culture vehicle burials of the Celtic Iron Age of Eastern Yorkshire at a time when the art of casting bronze on to iron was in vogue. During this period, chariot wheels were constructed using multiple felloes and one-piece iron tyres about three feet in diameter, which were heat shrunk on to the felloes and not nailed on. This is a modern technique and exhibits the great technical skill of the Arras culture wheelwrights. A set of large blacksmith's tools, including a pair of tongs, was found nearby and has been dated by radiocarbon techniques to the same period as the chariot. Possibly the tools had been used by the Garton Slack wheelwrights? The chariot can be safely dated to the latter part of the third century BC or early in the second century BC.

The reconstruction is based partly on guesses as to the chariot's construction from information gained from the Garton Slack chariot excavation and early sources such as the Padua Stele and coins etc. In addition, the excavator's early years associated with horses, ponies, traps, chassis and single-pole farm wagons and allied harness was of some assistance. The non-survival of a yoke for one reason or another at Garton Slack does present a problem. There can be no doubt whatsoever a yoke must have been used to harness the ponies to the chariot, otherwise controlled and adequate travel would have been impossible.

Fox, in his reconstruction of the Llyn Cerrig chariot, suggests the horses were harnessed to the chariot by means of a double swingle-tree and a wooden yoke secured to the pole by lashings and a swivel pin. Without a horse collar, which was not used in Europe for more than a thousand years later than the Garton chariot, the swingle-tree system would have little tractive value. There is every possibility that the pole was linked to the ponies by means of a strong wooden yoke with a thicker centre, the pole-cap, but the top and bottom of the swivel-pin slot would have a little larger hole to enable some vertical and horizontal play to take place when the chariot was moving over uneven ground, otherwise the coupling could have fractured as it would have been too rigid (see reconstruction).

It is thought the ponies must have been harnessed to the wooden yoke by means of a belly band and a broad leather chest-strap. Both of these would enable the ponies to haul the chariot, and the belly strap would assist braking action by preventing forward movement of the yoke and pole. The chest band would enable the ponies to haul a light load such as the chariot, without strangulation. Some form of strap union or buckle could be needed to keep the belly strap taut. This buckle could have been made of hardened oak or, less efficiently, a leather, self-tightening slip buckle could have been used. The two bronze strap unions or slip buckles found in the grave were too light to be used as belly strap unions. It is suggested these were part of the head gear.

There can be no doubt that the Garton Slack chariot had an open front and arcaded sides. It is possible there was a bar across the front of the vehicle which could carry the large terret and provide protection to the passengers and the driver, and prevent them falling forward when the chariot lurched. It is likely there was a seat on each side of the chariot. In the reconstruction the axle is placed slightly forward to counterbalance the pole, but not too much as to allow the pole to ride too lightly on the yoke.

It is certain that some method was used to prevent the pin from partly jumping up and out of its socket during violent movements of the pole. The large pins of the type of the so called linch pin, from the King's Barrow, Arras, may in fact be pole and yoke swivel-pins. A wooden slip-disc on the lower side of the pole and between it and the end of the swivel-pin would also be effective.

Iron Age Cemeteries in East Yorkshire

I M Stead

English Heritage
ISBN 1 85074 3517

Packed with information about a Celtic warrior of the Parisii(Arras culture).