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Chariot - Central and Western Europe

Chariot - Central and Western Europe: Encyclopedia II - Chariot - Central and Western Europe

The only Etruscan chariot found intact dates to ca. 530 BC. It is decorated with bronze plates reminiscent of the Gundestrup cauldron. Its wheels have nine spokes. It was part of a chariot burial. The Celts were famous chariot-makers, and the English word car is believed to be derived, via Latin carrum, from Gaulish karros (English chariot itself is from 13th century French charriote, an augmentative of the same word). Some 20 Iron Age chariot burials have been excavated in Britain, dating roughly fr ...

Chariot: Encyclopedia II - Chariot - Central and Western Europe

Chariot - Central and Western Europe

The only Etruscan chariot found intact dates to ca. 530 BC. It is decorated with bronze plates reminiscent of the Gundestrup cauldron. Its wheels have nine spokes. It was part of a chariot burial.

The Celts were famous chariot-makers, and the English word car is believed to be derived, via Latin carrum, from Gaulish karros (English chariot itself is from 13th century French charriote, an augmentative of the same word). Some 20 Iron Age chariot burials have been excavated in Britain, dating roughly from between 500 BC and 100 BC, virtually all of them in East Yorkshire, with the exception of one find of 2001 from Newbridge, 10km west of Edinburgh. Chariots play an important role in Irish mythology surrounding the hero Cu Chulainn.

The Celtic chariot may have been called carpentom, was drawn by a team of two horses, and measures approximately 2 m in width and 4 m in length. The iron rims for chariot wheels were probably a Celtic invention. Apart from the iron wheel rims and iron fittings of the hub, it was constructed from wood and wicker-work. In some instances, iron rings reinforced the joints. Another Celtic innovation was the free-hanging axle, suspended from the platform with rope. This resulted in a much more comfortable ride on bumpy terrain.

According to Tacitus (Annals 14.35), Boudica, a Celtic female chieftain who led the Iceni and a number of other Celtic tribes in a major uprising against the occupying Roman forces, addressed her troops, using a chariot to drive through the ranks before the Battle of Watling Street in 61 AD:

Boudicca curru filias prae se vehens, ut quamque nationem accesserat, solitum quidem Britannis feminarum ductu bellare testabatur "Boudicea, with her daughters before her in a chariot, went up to tribe after tribe, protesting that it was indeed usual for Britons to fight under the leadership of women."

The Celtic chariot carried a driver and a soldier. It was probably used in numbers, to provoke an enemy into action but the soldier normally dismounted to do his fighting, to be picked up again when the immediate task was done. This use of the vehicle went some way to combining the mobility of cavalry with the stability of infantry.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Central and Western Europe", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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