Ancient chariot found in Edinburgh

The chariot was found near the burial cairn at Huly Hill

Scottish archaeologists have completed an operation to remove an Iron Age chariot from an Edinburgh building site.

The chariot, which is thought to have been used in a burial around 250BC, was unearthed by construction workers on the site of the new Edinburgh Interchange development, near Newbridge.

Experts said the chariot is the first of its kind to be discovered in Scotland and suggests that someone of importance may have been buried nearby.

Edinburgh City Council ordered an archaeological excavation to be carried out on the Newbridge site due to its proximity to Huly Hill, a Bronze Age burial cairn surrounded by three standing stones.

An example of an Iron Age burial chariot

Stephen Carter, director of Headland Archaeology, who undertook the dig, said the discovery had been "a complete surprise".

"This is the type of find that you read about in books - you don't expect to be faced with the genuine article on site," he said.

During the excavation, Mr Carter was helped by experts from the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) and City of Edinburgh Council.

The chariot, which was still encased in mud, was then taken to the NMS laboratory in Granton, Edinburgh, for conservation work.

'Marvellous discovery'

Fraser Hunter, curator of the Iron Age and Roman collections at the NMS, said: "This is a marvellous discovery - one of those entirely unexpected finds that changes our views on Scotland's past.

"A chariot like this would be the Ferrari of the Iron Age, and suggests someone important was buried there."

The chariot has been taken to the National Museum of Scotland

"This chariot is unique in Scotland and extremely rare in Britain.

"The best parallels are in France and Belgium, showing the wide-ranging contacts at the time."

John Lawson, archaeologist for Edinburgh City Council said: "We are all very excited about this amazing find.

"This further confirms the importance of the Huly Hill site in the West of Edinburgh as a religious centre for the prehistoric people of Edinburgh."