Iron Age chariot wheel found under golf course in Scotland

Archaeologists excavating the site of a new golf course in Inverness, Scotland, have discovered the remains of a rare Iron Age chariot wheel. It is the first piece of an Iron Age chariot found in the Scottish Highlands, and one of only five chariot finds from the period made in all of Scotland.

The wheel was found in a cremation pit at the center of the a circular palisade enclosed by wooden posts. The posts are gone, but the postholes mark the spot. The wheel is believed to have been placed in the cremation pit for ceremonial purposes.

Part of the Old Petty Golf Championship Course at Castle Stuart site is in the area of the Newton of Petty Prehistoric Settlement scheduled monument, the remains of a dense concentration of roundhouses from settlement dating to around 1800 B.C. Before redevelopment, archaeologists dug evaluation trenches to investigate whether there were any significant buried remains.

Eight areas of archaeological potential were identified, including traces of at least 25 Neolithic wooden buildings that may be related to the settlement in the monument, and a prehistoric ceremonial circle. Artifacts found including a 3,500 Bronze Age cordoned cremation urn, Iron Age quern stones and flint tools.

Andy Young, principal archaeologist at Avon Archaeology Highland, said the wheel was the most important of the discoveries.

Mr Young told BBC Scotland News: “They are such a rare thing. “None of us had really seen one before in terms of physically excavating one. “We were a bit bemused.”

Mr Young said he initially thought it was a piece of equipment buried by a farmer in more recent times. “I was initially a bit dismissive,” he said.

The archaeological materials found in the excavation will be radiocarbon dated and documented. They will then be transferred to museums in Inverness and Edinburgh for conservation and display.