November 26, 2018
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Amateur treasure hunter finds Wales' first Celtic chariot with a METAL DETECTOR
A 2,500-year-old Celtic chariot has been found buried in Wales for the first time.
The metal detectorist who uncovered the chariot in a Pembrokeshire field believes there would have been a chieftain or queen buried with it, although bones are yet to be found. High-ranking chiefs in the Iron Age were generally laid to rest with their chariot, horses, tack and weapons.
Mike Smith, 45, first found what he thought was a medieval brooch but turned out to be part of a Celtic horse harness - dating to around 600 BC. Mr Smith, from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, went straight back the following day and found more red enamel pieces.
He said: 'I knew the importance of them straight away. It was just instinct. I'd read all about chariot burials and just wished it could have been me, so finding this has been a privilege.'
Experts told Mr Smith, who has been a metal detectorist for 30 years, that the chariot is the first of its kind to be found in Wales. The exact location of his amazing find, which is from somewhere in south Pembrokeshire, is being kept secret in anticipation of a major dig. He was digging there by chance because his favourite digging spot was waterlogged.
Dyfed Archaeological Trust and National Museum Wales were then brought in to help with the dig.
Ground penetrating radar showed a pattern of buried ditches and walls - suggesting a large Celtic settlement. Then a trial excavation revealed the tops of a pair of chariot wheels.
Mr Smith said: 'Often the wheels were laid flat but this one appeared to have been buried intact. It could have had the chieftain or queen sitting in it. There would have been a mound over it but that has gone.'
He believes past ploughing might have brought the finds closer to the surface.
The site has now been recovered and is set to get legal protection, with a full excavation planned for next year. But what is still exciting Mr Smith is a three-metre metal anomaly shown up by the scans and actually underneath the chariot. Mr Smith said: 'It could be weapons... or it could be treasure.'
Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk
