SerpApi.Org
A bronze chariot buried for roughly 2,400 years is giving archaeologists a rare look at ritual life in ancient Iberia — and possibly at the trade links that once connected what is now Spain with the Etruscan world in Italy, Live Science reported.
What happened?
At Casas del Turuñuelo in Spain's Badajoz province, archaeologists uncovered surviving pieces of a bronze chariot that seems to have been involved in ceremonies for the gods, according to Live Science.
Researchers say the object is about 24 inches long, and its flat upper surface appears to have served as a place for burning incense offerings.
For Guiomar Pulido González, an archaeologist at the Mérida Institute of Archaeology and a doctoral student at the Autonomous University of Madrid, the discovery stands out because it is "without known parallels" in Iberia.
Only part of the chariot survived, including two legs and two wheels, but the remaining pieces still show unusual artistry.
The surviving decoration includes what seem to be two human figures holding up the platform and griffins on the short sides. It also features a face that blends a gorgon — a protective figure associated with Medusa — with Achelous, a river god from Greek mythology.
"All the figurative parts of the chariots point to protective divinities," Pulido said, though "we are not sure what they are protecting — maybe the content of the chariot, or the viewers looking at them."
Why does it matter?
Although comparable chariots are known from Etruscan settings, this may be the first example identified in Iberia and the first with this distinctive gorgon-Achelous combination.
That detail adds to growing evidence that elite communities in the region were tied into broader Mediterranean trade networks. Imported Greek pottery and other Etruscan bronze objects had already suggested that elites participated in long-distance exchange systems and had the wealth to obtain imported goods.
Researchers have found the same broader pattern at 14 sites in the area: burned buildings that were later filled with soil and debris. Because that sequence recurs so often, archaeologists think it may reflect a ritual closing of these places rather than destruction in an attack before the communities vanished from the archaeological record.
What's being done?
Researchers and restorers are continuing to study the chariot's construction, iconography, and damage to figure out where it was made and how it reached southwestern Spain.
One clue they are weighing is the clothing of the supporting figures, which appear to wear skirts — a feature Pulido said would be unusual in Etruscan bronze work, where figures are more often shown nude.
Restoration may ultimately show whether the piece was made in Italy and then traded west, or produced locally by artisans drawing on foreign models. Either possibility would sharpen historians' understanding of cultural exchange around the ancient Mediterranean.
Pulido suggested, "Instead, they may have formed part of a carefully planned ritual of closure, a symbolic farewell to buildings that were intentionally decommissioned."
She said that after this, the culture "disappeared from the archaeological record."
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
