Chariot warfare before the common era.
We ancient Brythons were famous for our skill, courage and our verve in driving our chariots, and modern English words like car, carriage and carry are ultimately derived from the native Brythonic word in modern Welsh, which is Cerbyd or Carbad, and the word chariot eventually sprung from this root.
Brythonic chariot;
The first chariots for use in battle were thought to have been created by the Urartians sometime in the first millennium BC in ancient Anatolia. A Professor Erkan Konyar of Istanbul University took the opportunity of archaeologically investigating an interesting site in Van, Eastern Turkey, and what he found there changed current thinking on the Urartians’ chariot making skills. On closer inspection of some large and deeply carved shapes in sections of rock in the area and also known in other nearby and associated areas, long thought to be an ancient code of simple letters such as V, O and U, but were found to be moulds of chariot parts by Professor Konyar.
From roughly the 9th to 7th centuries BC, the Urartians controlled a vast kingdom across modern day Turkey stretching from the Euphrates in the west to Iran in the east, and from Lake Sevan to the north to Taurus to their south. Konyar knew that, if these ‘monumental rock signs’ were in fact moulds and not letters, then they would need to fit the dimensions of Urartian chariot wheels and their various components. But with no surviving chariots of these Urartians ever being found, working out the dimensions of those ancient vehicles would have been almost impossible, as the Urartians left no written documents describing their manufacturing. And so, Professor Konyar looked to the Urartians art, hoping he could take some approximations from surviving pictures.
The Urartians’ surviving art showed that they used two-wheeled chariots drawn by a pair of horses. The wheels were typically composed of two concentric rings, the outer being slightly thicker. Each wheel had four to six spokes that radiated out from the centre, and the two wheels were held in place on the hubs using U-shaped wheel-clamps much like most classical wheeled vehicles. Unlike the wooden wheels which had all perished, the wheel clamps and U pins were made of metal and survived the intervening centuries, and four notable components have been identified from across the Urartian kingdom.
Based on the size of these recesses in the rocks, and referring back to the Urartians’ art, Konyar was able to propose that Urartian wheels would have been around a metre (39in) in diameter. This is supported to some degree by the few surviving chariot wheels found in contemporary sites elsewhere in the region. A few Anatolian examples have survived from somewhere in the middle of the 1st millennium BC, but by this time, an iron ‘tier’ or rim was added on the outer rim of the wooden wheels, and these later Anatolian wheels were also about 1m (39in) in diameter. The west Anatolian burial site of Balıkesir-Üçpınar makes a fine example, and it contained evidence of a chariot whose slightly larger and metal rimmed wheels had a diameter of 1.12m (44in). Referring back to the sizes of the letter shaped rock symbols he had drawn to scale, they seemed to match the likely dimensions of early chariot wheels. The large, O shaped carvings he had sketched tended to be around 90-110cm (35-43in) in diameter and 4-10cm (1.6-3.9in) deep. But if he was right in his assumption that these O’s carved into the rocks were actual wheel moulds, how would they work?
Professor Erkan Konyar of Istanbul University.
https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/turkey-secrets-of-the-chariot-makers/
Consulting many historical accounts of wheel manufacture in libraries and elsewhere, more specifically their mass production, Konyar discovered that the traditional methods of Turkish wheel construction was of great interest. For mass-produced wheels, the early Turkish wheelwrights first had to source the appropriate wood, and oak was always their preferred timber as it is naturally moist and easily malleable. The planed oak strips were then immersed in vast cauldrons of hot water until they became soft, after which they were inserted into large and round, metal wheel-moulds and clamped tightly into place against it outer wall. Each wheel tended to be made using two or three thick laths of wood rather than a single piece which might struggle to conform to the desired shape. Once dry, the timber would then be unclamped and prised carefully from the round former within the metal mould. After extracting it from the metal mould, the old Turkish wheelmakers would add oak or ash spokes, securing them into the knave, and then it would be tied with a steel band before being fitted onto the hub of the waiting chariot with a U-shaped clamp.
Hittite Chariot from Anatolia (modern Turkey)
Many chariots have been discovered on the Italian peninsula, the largest number of these came from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries BC in the most and they represent several varieties in both design and art.
In 1902, a landowner in Italy working on his property accidentally uncovered a subterranean vault with an ancient tomb residing within, and all this covered by a tumulus. Further investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot in this underground vault as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. The since named ‘Monteleone Chariot’ belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions and never used in battle. However, identical in design and construction, these ceremonial chariots had two wheels and were drawn by two horses just like their military counterparts. This stunning ceremonial chariot was amazingly and expensively decorated in beatifully and heavily embossed sheet bronze, no mean feat, and with a decidedly Greeks vs Trojans theme. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger much the same as the chariots we find in Britain.
The Monteleone Chariot;
The iconography on the fantastic ‘Monteleone Chariot’ represents a carefully thought-out program straight from its past. The three major, heavily embossed bronze panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles; the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles standing on the right receives a shield and helmet from his mother Thetis who is standing on his left. These are to replace the armour that Achilles had given to his friend Patroklos for combat against the Trojan Hektor. History tells us that Patroklos was killed by Hektor, allowing him to take Achilles' armour. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and from many representations in Greek art, and it was beautifully recreated on this stunning chariot. The panel on the left shows combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon, and the other panels of the car are equally decorated. This choice of subject clearly reflects the Greek’s close knowledge of the epics recounting their Trojan war. The typically Etruscan features of the chariot begin with its function, for two-wheeled fighting chariots were not meaningful in Greek life around the sixth century BC except in athletic contests perhaps. Moreover, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan preferences.
“Chariot use made its way into Egypt around 1650 BCE during the Hyksos invasion of Egypt and establishment of the fourteenth dynasty.[8] In 1659 BCE the Indo-European Hittites sacked Babylon, which demonstrated the superiority of chariots in antiquity. The chariot and horse were used extensively in Egypt by the Hyksos invaders from the 16th century BC onwards, though discoveries announced in 2013 potentially place the earliest chariot use as early as Egypt's Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE).” – Wikipedia.
In the Roman Empire, chariots were never used for warfare, only for chariot racing or ceremonial events, and these were usually four horsepower for racing, but could be any variant for celebratory purposes. They were used especially in circuses, or for triumphal processions through the streets of Rome when they could be pulled by as many as ten horses or even by dogs, tigers, or even ostriches if some stories are to be believed.
“The oldest testimony of chariot warfare in the ancient Near East is the old Hittite Anitta text (18th century BCE), which mentions 40 teams of horses (in the original cuneiform spelling: 40 ṢÍ-IM-TI ANŠE.KUR.RAḪI.A) at the siege of Salatiwara, a Middle Bronze Age city in south-central Anatolia.” – Wikipedia.
There is a very old and well-established Hittite culture known in early Britain, and it is one I have covered in many other articles here and on my Linkedin page, but the Brythons are indeed partly descended from the ancient Hittite’s of Anatolia, and it should come as no surprise that their chariots are largely the same as Trojan/Brythonic in design.
The Hittite battle of Kadesh in 1274 BCE is likely to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving over 5,000 chariots, which must have been a phenomenal sight, or perhaps it was just one cloud of dust, who knows. By Alexander the Great’s time, cavalry was far more effective and agile than the chariot, and the defeat of Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE, where Alexander’s cavalry simply opened their lines to let the chariots pass and then spun around to attack them from behind, marked the end of the era of chariot warfare to many commentators, however, the art of designing, constructing and fighting chariots of war remained for many generations here in isolated Britannia especially among the wealthy elites, and we became empirical experts in all those skills, inventing a few of our own along the way.
British Chariots.
Some twenty iron-age chariot burials have been excavated in Britain so far, all roughly dating from between 500 BCE and 100 BCE. Almost all of them were found in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the one the exception being a rare find in 2001 in Newbridge, six and a half miles west of Edinburgh.
The Newbridge chariot reconstruction;
Pocklington, a market town in the east riding of Yorkshire has grabbed the news headlines several times in recent history by unearthing some fantastic chariot burials. October 2018 a stunning example was found of the interred remains of a chariot, with horse and human remains extant. Only 18 months ago, another Iron Age chariot was found along with two horses, and at a different construction site in Pocklington, a common funerary practice in the Iron Age for the aristocracy.
The Telegraph said at the time, that; “the remains date back to 500 BC, and it is the first of its kind in the last 200 years and one of only 26 chariots ever excavated in the UK.”
Archaeologists at the site said that it was highly unusual for a horse and chariot to be buried together with a human in that way. A new method, newly arrived perhaps?
A chariot was the possession of a high-status individual that much was obvious. The rite of including horses as part of the burial was puzzled over by researchers associated with those archaeologists. Before finding the chariot, the dig at the Burnby Lane site revealed that artifacts including a long sword, a shield, spears, brooches, and pots had all been interred along with the fantastic chariot. However, those poor blinkered English academics assigned these amazing was chariots to the Arras culture.
Even Wikipedia offer a clue to those myopic individuals;
“The Arras culture is an archaeological culture of the Middle Iron Age in East Yorkshire, England.[1] 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.[2] 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.” – Wikipedia.
Named after a local farm? Is there nothing they won’t stop at to prevented themselves from being forced into uttering the forbidden phrase; “It’s Brythonic!” Of course, these chariots belonged to the Parisi, who were known not only for their skills in the noble metals but in manufacturing and operating superb chariots of war. And for whom were the Parisi named, Prince Paris of Troy perhaps? This Prince Paris is thought to have been the catalyst to the Trojan War, as under the guise of a supposed diplomatic mission, he went to Sparta to get Helen and to return her to Troy. However, before Helen looked up to see him enter the palace, she was shot with an arrow from Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, and so she fell in love with Paris the moment she saw him, as promised by Aphrodite, causing untold subsequent mischief. When Paris carried Helen off to Troy, the Greeks invaded Troy for Helen's return, initiating the Trojan War.
Caesar was himself surprised on seeing these Brythonic chariots, ancient even to his eyes, and a with a distinctly Trojan heritage in both form and look they were charging about the cliffs of Dover with a wild abandon when he first arrived in 55 BC, being nothing like the four horse chariots he had left at home.
“Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the meantime withdraw some little distance from the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus, they display in battle the speed of horse, [together with] the firmness of infantry; and by daily practice and exercise attain to such expertness that they are accustomed, even on a declining and steep place, to check their horses at full speed, and manage and turn them in an instant and run along the pole, and stand on the yoke, and thence betake themselves with the greatest celerity to their chariots again.” – Caesar’s De Bello Gallico.
A model of a manned Trojan chariot. https://www.museumminiatures.co.uk/later-mycenaean-trojan-dba-v2-army.html
This is a model of a manned Brythonic chariot; https://www.beastsofwar.com/historical-battles/ancient-battles/ancient-british-war-chariot-rides-view/
I see no discernible differences in these two vehicles apart from the number of spokes, which was an ongoing development as new techniques were shared.
Bronze of an early Trojan chariot for sale on Etsy currently.
Boudicca, the notorious Icenic queen and a number of other tribes’ nobles were known to operate two-horse chariots, and that formidable monarch addressed her troops from the back of one in 61 AD before her insurrection, and so British nobility had long been associated with these war vehicles.
Getty Images; https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/
The last mention of chariot use in battle seems to be at the Battle of Mons Graupius, somewhere in modern Scotland, in 84 CE.
“The plain between resounded with the noise and with the rapid movements of chariots and cavalry." The chariots did not win even their initial engagement with the Roman auxiliaries: "Meantime the enemy's cavalry had fled, and the charioteers had mingled in the engagement of the infantry.” – Tacitus (Agricola 1.35–36).
So, if our chariots’ designs were brought here by Prince Brutus of Troy around 500 BC, and perhaps with a brood stock of his excellent horses, why do some academics still argue that the Trojan war never existed when Troy surely did? They denied that for decades until they were proved wrong. Again, even Wikipedia offers the unseeing a bold clue to both troy and the highly destructive war which took place there, evidence of which still remains.
“Troy in the Late Bronze Age was a thriving coastal city consisting of a steep fortified citadel and a sprawling lower town below it. It had a considerable population and extensive foreign contacts, including with Mycenaean Greece. Geographic and linguistic evidence suggests that it corresponds to the city of Wilusa known from Hittite texts. Its archaeological sublayers Troy VIh and Troy VIIa are among the candidates for a potential historical setting for the myths of the Trojan War, since aspects of their architecture are consistent with the Iliad's description of mythic Troy, and they show potential signs of violent destruction. Troy VI existed from around 1750 BC to 1300 BC. Its citadel was divided into a series of rising terraces, of which only the outermost is reasonably well-preserved. The citadel was enclosed by a massive wall whose limestone base is visible to modern day visitors. These walls were periodically renovated, expanding from an initial width of one point two metres (3.9 ft) to five metres (16 ft) around 1400 BC. Troy VI's walls were overlooked by several rectangular watchtowers, which would also have provided a clear view of Trojan plain and the sea beyond it. The citadel was accessed by five gates, which led into paved and drained cobblestone streets. Some of these gates featured enormous pillars which serve no structural purpose and have been interpreted as religious symbols.” – Wikipedia.
Blaise Pascal was chief among these naysayers, and he characterised the story as merely a ‘romance’, commenting that; ‘nobody supposes that Troy and Agamemnon existed any more than the apples of the Hesperides’, adding ‘Homer had no intention to write a history, but only to amuse us’. During the 19th century, the enduring stories of Troy were also devalued as fables by one George Grote who wrote ‘The History of Greece’ in 1846.
Thankfully, Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann, a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology answered these question once and for all with his archaeological excavations at Hisarlik in the 1870’s which revealed Troy in all its glory.
“The Trojans enter battle in chariots, launching javelins into the enemy formations, then dismount for hand-to-hand combat with yet more javelin throwing, rock throwing, and if necessary hand to hand sword and shoulder-borne aspis (shield) fighting.” – John Keegan (1993 A History of Warfare).
Homer gives us exact descriptions of historic chariot warfare among the Trojans, and he names the 'phalanx formation' in his writings, and he points out that the historical Trojan elite would not stand and fight in a shield-wall unless forced to do so, as they preferred to go to war and fight from their vehicles. In the continental Bronze Age, the chariot was the preferred weapon of choice, as shown in the Battle of Kadesh in Egypt in 1274 BC.
Throughout the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in Britain however, the chariot remained as the main battle transport weapon for our wealthy elite, so there must be many more lying around waiting to be discovered in Britain, and not just in East Yorkshire.
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