The chariot under excavation 
Reconstruction of a chariot found at at Wetwang, E Yorkshire, in 2001. More info here:
Posted on 03/10/2005 8:55:45 PM PST by nickcarraway
The centuries-long tussle for prestige between England and Scotland may be about to end in victory for the clans, with new archaeological evidence suggesting that the first national leader of the British Isles was a Scot.
The remains of a mysterious figure found in an Iron Age chariot burial under the A1M motorway was of "exceptional significance" according to academics, who have also unearthed the leftovers of one of Britain's biggest feasts at his funeral site in Yorkshire.
Decorated with jewellery and finely wrought harness and chariot gear, the 2,400-year-old grave is thought to have been a rallying-point for Britain's tribes 500 years later when the Romans moved north. Some 300 young cattle from all over the country were brought to Ferrybridge to feed an assembly running into thousands not far from where a Little Chef now stands.
"We have much more to find out, but this is an excavation full of surprises," said Angela Boyle of Oxford Archaeology, whose specialists rescued the remains from the £245m upgrading of the junction between the A1M and the trans-Pennine M62. The slender man, who was in his 30s or 40s, 5ft 9in tall with excellent teeth, was initially thought to be a local warrior, and the cattle remains traces of a ceremony to mark his burial.
"But high strontium in his bones shows that he was not from Yorkshire, but almost certainly from the Scottish highlands," said Ms Boyle. "And the cattle remains date from the first century AD when the Romans were establishing themselves here.
"The evidence suggests that the site of the burial may have been venerated for all those years after his death - and then became a place for the tribes to rally and perhaps remember a great national leader of the past."
Other finds, including ceremonial sites and a drovers' road, have pointed to more centralised organisation than had previously been thought. Road excavations, encouraged by the Highways Agency, have been influential because of the age of routes such as the A1 Great North Road from London to Edinburgh.
David Jamieson, junior minister for roads, said: "The quality of the Iron Age remains found during this dig is quite outstanding and is attracting attention from around the world."
Ms Boyle said that the delicate iron wheels, jewellery and bones were in "an unparalleled state of preservation" and more discoveries could be expected.
Chariot burials are unique to the middle Iron Age (500-100BC) and only 19 others have been found in Britain - all of them in Yorkshire apart from one near Edinburgh. The only comparable feast was held near Northampton in the Bronze Age (2,500-750BC) where the discovery of mounds of pips pointed to a pudding course absent at Ferrybridge.
Which has really made it difficult doing my geneology back past about 740CE.
The Scotsman
From: A Faire To Remember
words and music by Mike Cross
Well a Scotsman clad in kilt left a bar on evening fair
And one could tell by how we walked that he drunk more than his share
He fumbled round until he could no longer keep his feet
Then he stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street
About that time two young and lovely girls just happend by
And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
See yon sleeping Scotsman so strong and handsome built
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath the kilt
They crept up on that sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
Lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
And there behold, for them to see, beneath his Scottish skirt
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth
They marveled for a moment, then one said we must be gone
Let's leave a present for our friend, before we move along
As a gift they left a blue silk ribbon, tied into a bow
Around the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and show
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
Around the bonnie star, the Scots kilt did lift and show
Now the Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled towards a tree
Behind a bush, he lift his kilt and gawks at what he sees
And in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes.
O lad I don't know where you been but I see you won first prize
Ring ding diddle diddle I de oh ring di diddly I oh
O lad I don't know where you been but I see you won first prize!
Celtic Ping list!
*heh*....;)
Pits, fruit seeds, etc.
can i get on your celtic list?
So, how long did they have to stop traffic.
Will this help the Scots win at Wimbledon?
The chariot under excavation Reconstruction of a chariot found at at Wetwang, E Yorkshire, in 2001. More info here:
Sure, consider yourself one of us. :)
Would you add me too? :)
I would like the be on the Celtic list, too. Thanks.
Thanks for the link, very interesting.
I'll have to pass this along to my Dad.
Guess this aspect just got away from them at some point.
It went away upon the introduction of preservatives and processed sugars into the world if we ate like they did before these things we would more than likely live alot longer and healthier lives !
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