Tombe à char de Grosbous

Metadaten

Museales Objekt

Beschreibung:: A small necropolis of about ten burials was discovered during drainage work between Grosbous and Schandel. Excavation of the first tumulus began in mid-October 1984, while the rest of the necropolis – because of poor weather conditions – had to wait until the spring of 1985.

Mound no. 2 was the largest, with a diameter of about 14 m and a height of 30 cm. The pit containing the burial was a rectangular funerary chamber measuring 2.50 x 1.90 m. As evidenced by wood fibre remnants found during the excavation that it was originally lined with wood.

The eastern part of the chamber held elements of a two-wheeled chariot, a symbol of nobility, on which the body of the deceased would initially have been laid out. The wood of the two dissimilar wheels (one must have been re-used) was decomposed – as was the body of the deceased itself. Only the iron rims of the wheels remained, leaning against the shaft of the chariot. Near them were two iron hubs, two bits and the remains of a metal yoke.

Two hinged iron bars were located in the western part of the pit. Because of the position of these key elements, archaeologists were for the first time able to suggest a Celtic chariot construction with a suspension for the box between the axle and the shaft.

The funerary chamber was low – due possibly to the density of the clay soil, indicating that the chariot must have been disassembled prior to its deposition.