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Due to the recent discover of the Iron
Age (250 BC) chariot burial in Newbridge (10 km West of Edinburgh) I thought it might be
beneficial to give you a quick overview of chariots in Pictish times.
Numerous chariot examples survive on Irish high crosses.
Chariots played a very large part in early Irish history. The ancient story of Tain bo
Cuilagne (cattle raid of Cooley) indicates that the elite fought from 2 wheel
chariots. Not only was chariot warfare in effect, but chariot racing was also a form of
entertainment. The Irish story, The Curse of Macha, weaves a tale in which a 9
month pregnant Macha runs a race against the kings chariot to prove her husbands bragging
as true. She wishes to hold off on the race until the baby is born but the men
demand that she race immediately. She wins, gives birth to twins at the end of the race,
and then curses the men so that they feel the pangs of birth in their greatest time of
need.
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Similarities in art often occur between the Irish
and the Pictish. However, any literature produced by the Picts, besides a list of kings,
has been lost to us and we only have one visual example of a chariot in Pictish
art. The Meigle #10 stone, sadly now lost, is our only glimpse of a "Pictish"
chariot. At one point the stone rested on a mound in the Meigle Churchyard; today we only
have a sketch (found in Allen & Anderson’s, The Early Christian Monuments of
Scotland) of the original stone.
Two, side-by-side, horses with braided tails draw
the Meigle chariot. There is a seated driver at the front and two passengers, sitting one
in front of the other, behind the driver. The chariot has an awning stretched over the two
passengers and the wheel, underneath the passengers, has twelve spokes.
It is in question whether the chariot on the stone
represents a Pictish chariot, a Roman chariot or the artist’s perception of a
Biblical times chariot.
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Aberlemeno Pictish Stone 2 |
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Dr. J. Anderson suggested that the chariot scene on
Meigle #10 represented the Biblical ascension of Elijah. It has also been noted that the
Roman processional carts (carpentum) also had awnings stretched over them. Without more
archaeological evidence of early Scottish/Pictish chariots it is hard to know whether the
Meigle chariot is supposed to be a Pictish representation, a foreign representation or a
Biblical representation. However, we know that chariots were used in early,
present day, Scotland. Tacitus claimed that the Caledonians used chariots at Mon Grapius
in 84 AD. The last recorded use of chariots in a Celtic battle was by the Dal Riadans at
the battle of Moin Dairi Lothair in 563 AD.
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Newbridge Chariot Burial |
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Although only one representation of a formed
chariot exists in Pictish art, it has been suggested that the notched rectangle symbol is
an abstract representation of a chariot. (The two inner circles [notches] represent the
wheels underneath the chariot [chariot viewed from above]). This symbol, without a Z-rod,
appears only on Drumlanrig jewellery and on Jonathan’s Cave in East Wemys, Fife. With
the Z-rod the symbol shows up on numerous Class I stones and on only two Class II
stones: The Maiden Stone and the Aberlemno #2 stone.
What separates Class I from Class II stones is the
introduction of Christianity. (Class II stones usually have a cross displayed on one side
of the stone and human activity on the other). The use of chariots also began to disappear
around the same time (7th century) as Christianity began to take root in
Pictish settlements. This goes far in explaining why the suggested chariot symbol is found
on numerous Class I and on only two Class II stones.
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So, if the Picts used chariots, then why has
archaeology yet to uncover any from the Pictish era?
It seems that the Picts did not find it necessary
to bury their chariots. In fact, when it came to burials, the Picts did not appear to
include any burial goods in their traditions. Chariots were no exception.
Due to this unfortunate circumstance we may never
unearth a chariot from the Pictish era. However, Iron Age burials, like the one found in
Newbridge does give us a glimpse at the design that may have directly influenced the
Pictish chariot centuries.
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| Drawing of
Cariot |
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By Historian Sarah Fisher |
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Acknowledgements: Newbridge
Chariot pictures Headland Archaeology Ltd |
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