Arras culture facts for kids
The Arras culture was a group of people who lived in East Yorkshire, England, during the Middle Iron Age. This was a time roughly from 400 BC to 70 AD. The culture gets its name from a special burial ground called Arras, located near Market Weighton. This site was found in the 1800s.
The Arras culture is known for its unique burial customs. These customs were not common in other parts of Britain but were similar to some practices in Europe, especially those of the La Tène culture. People were often buried in square-shaped areas, sometimes with chariots. Unlike burials in Europe, the cemeteries were often crowded. The chariots found were usually taken apart before burial. Many items found from the Arras culture are now in the Yorkshire Museum and the British Museum.
Contents
Discovering the Arras Culture
The Arras site was first explored by local gentlemen between 1815 and 1817. These included William Watson and Barnard Clarkson. They dug up over a hundred burial mounds, called barrows, on both sides of the main road between Market Weighton and Beverley.
Many of their notes about the digs have been lost. However, they carefully recorded details from four important barrows. These were named the King's Barrow, the Queen's Barrow, the Lady's Barrow, and the Charioteer's Barrow. Later, in 1850, John Thurnam did more work at these sites. He published a report about the human remains he found.
Chariot Burials: A Special Find
The Arras burial ground was about 200 meters long. Around 100 barrows were found there, and four of them held chariot burials. The Arras culture is famous for these chariot burials, which are rare in Britain.
Other sites in North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire are also part of the Arras culture. These sites often have burials with carts (two wheels) or wagons (four wheels). They also contain small items similar to those found at Arras.
Some other places where Arras culture burials, including chariot burials, have been found are:
- Cawthorne Camps
- Pexton Moor
- Seamer
- Hunmanby
- Burton Fleming
- Danes Graves
- Garton
- Wetwang
- Middleton on the Wolds
- Beverley
- Hornsea
The small number of chariot burials suggests that only important people, like local leaders, were buried with chariots. This idea is supported by the high-quality metalwork and rare materials, like coral, found in these graves.
The Pocklington Chariot Burial
In 2014, a prehistoric cemetery was found near Pocklington in East Yorkshire. In 2017, diggers found a very rare chariot burial there. It included an Iron Age chariot and two horses, dating back to about 320 to 174 BC. This was the first time a chariot burial in the UK was found with horses also buried.
The remains of the person who likely drove the chariot were also found. This person was probably very important. Iron pieces from the chariot's body were also discovered. The wood of the chariot had rotted away, but its shape was preserved as stains in the ground. One wheel had been damaged, probably by farming.
A bronze shield found in the grave was in amazing condition. The shield's center part looked like the Wandsworth shield boss, another ancient shield. One part of the Pocklington shield's design, a wavy border, is unique in Europe. Experts say these discoveries help us understand the Arras culture better.
Other Burials in the Arras Culture
Most burials in the Arras culture did not include chariots. These graves were always inhumations, meaning the body was buried whole. They were found inside square-shaped mounds called barrows. The skeletons were usually laid out with their heads facing north.
At the Burton Fleming site, skeletons were found in three main positions:
- Stretched out fully.
- With legs bent at the knees.
- With legs pulled up against the chest.
Items buried with the people included metal objects, pottery, and animal bones. Bones from pigs and horses were often found with the burials.
Important Arras Graves
The first digs by William Watson uncovered over 100 square-shaped burial mounds. Each mound usually held a single buried body, often with special items. The objects found in these graves are very high quality and sometimes unique to Iron Age Britain. They include items made of copper, iron, animal bone, coral, jet, and enamel.
Most of the items from the King's Barrow, Queen's Barrow, and Charioteer's Barrow are now at the Yorkshire Museum. The items from the Lady's Barrow are at the British Museum.
King's Barrow: A Man and His Cart
Not much of the mound was left when it was dug up. This barrow was about 8 meters wide and covered a circular grave. The grave was 3.5 meters wide and 45 centimeters deep. It held the body of a man, facing north. Below him were the remains of a two-wheeled cart. The cart's wheels were placed above a horse's skull.
The wooden parts of the cart had disappeared. However, the iron tires, wheel hubs, and iron and copper pins were still there. Rings and other parts of the horse's harness were also found.
Queen's Barrow: Personal Treasures
The Queen's Barrow is the only one of the four main graves that did not have a chariot burial. The small items found here were mostly personal decorations. These included:
- A coral brooch
- A disc pendant with coral
- Two bracelets
- A gold ring
- An amber ring
- A bronze ring
- A toilet-set
- A necklace made of green and blue glass beads
Charioteer's Barrow: A Missing Body?
The Charioteer's Barrow was 3.5 meters wide and 60 centimeters high when it was found. Even though it contained a chariot and other items, no human bones were officially recorded. It's likely that the records were lost, rather than there being no body at all. Iron tires, wheel hubs, and other harness parts were taken from this barrow.
Lady's Barrow: A Woman's Grave
The Lady's Barrow held a female skeleton and a two-wheeled chariot that had been taken apart. The mound was 4.3 meters wide and 45 centimeters high. The burial pit was 3.6 meters wide and 1 meter deep. The details of what was found inside were carefully written down:
Underneath the head of the woman was a mirror. Behind the back were the iron tires of two wheels laid partly the one over the other, and within each tire were two bronze hoops, those of the corresponding naves, and a circular piece of iron. In front of the face were two bits laid slightly above the bottom of the grave.
See Also
