Castleford Museum is home to a stunning display of the Ferry Fryston Iron Age Chariot.
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| The chariot display at Castleford Museum |
Dr Melanie Giles
specialises in the Iron Age of northern Europe, particularly aspects of
funerary archaeology, Celtic art and weaponry, and the phenomenon of 'bog
bodies'. Her first monograph - A Forged Glamour: landscape, identity and
material culture - was published by Windgather Press in 2012, and is a
detailed study of the lives and deaths of Iron Age communities in Yorkshire.
Here she writes a guest blog about the chariot:
I was delighted to give
a talk at Castleford Museum earlier this Spring, on the 'Chariot Burials of
Britain'. They are a particular passion of mine, and it was a very special
place to talk about them, in the close company of the 'Ferry Fryston' chariot -
displayed in a nearby case. No other museum in England currently has a complete
chariot burial and all of its grave goods on display, apart from Castleford - a
great claim to fame!
The man buried with
these iron-rimmed wheels and bronze horse-gear, was not a local, but came from
further afield - possibly East Yorkshire. Yet he was treated with great respect
by the people who built his square barrow, and laid him in the box of this
impressive vehicle, as if it was a hearse, before wheeling it into the grave
pit. He was buried with the fragments of a shield and a beautiful iron brooch
which once had a bright, shining red glass dome for decoration. It now looks
rather rusty in colour but it must have been a wonderful object that caught
everyone's eye, back in the Iron Age!
What is remarkable about this burial is
that even in the Roman period, people came back to this ancient monument, to
leave offerings of cattle bone on the barrow mound. (The full report on this
site can be found in the wonderful book on 'The Archaeology of the A1 (M)'
development, published by Oxford North).
I've been thinking about
what these burials mean for many years… women as well as men are buried with
chariots, but only adults and not children. I think these were powerful people
- leaders in their community - many of whom had fascinating life-stories to
tell. Here's a reconstruction of a chariot burial in progress, by Aaron Watson
(made for my recent book 'A Forged Glamour', Windgather Press). See what you
think!
I'm looking forward to
coming back to Castleford in future years: for now, please do visit and pay
your own respects to the Ferry Fryston man.
Dr Melanie Giles
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