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In this article, a horse-bridle toggle from a final Late Helladic I context in elite Building H at Mitrou is identified on the basis of its form and decoration as an object with close ties to the Carpatho-Danubian zone. In a stage of reworking the toggle was provided with serrated edges, which suggests an association with the introduction of the light horse-drawn chariot. This find helps reconstruct a long-distance trade route from the Carpatho-Danubian zone via the Euboean Gulf to southern Greece. Influences went both ways, with northern elite cultures playing a decisive role in the construction of a new ideology of power by Greece's emerging elite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental recruitment of previous technological experience in conceptualizations of non-technological phenomena constitutes a specific kind of unintended cognitive effect of human technological activity. This paper discusses particular conceptual takes on a significant epistemic challenge faced by people in the Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean: that of understanding the factors and dynamics governing and allowing the most important celestial body (the sun) to travel across the sky during the day. Textual sources, iconography and artefactual evidence in combination provide an outline of concrete conceptual solutions to this challenge, which centre on charioteering, i.e., the employment of light, horse-drawn vehicles for high-speed transport. These sources also inform on the actual, practical role played by this technological genre in the context of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age. The paper specifies a connection between the actual, mundane and social role of this form of vehicular technology in Bronze Age society, and the conceptualizations of an astronomical phenomenon to which it is recruited. This provides a specific case demonstrating how aspects of concrete, sensorimotor experience of technological activities, here the dynamics of vehicular transport, may ground associative conceptualization of empirically ill-specified phenomena. This, in turn, provides support for the general observation that the conceptual repertoires of individuals and collectives in particular historical contexts are influenced substantially by the experiential spectra associated with the specific ways of life into which they are born. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ramses II, in the king's fifth regnal year, invaded Hittite territory intending to take the city of Kadesh on the Orontes. The Hittite king Muwatallis II, prepared to stop him with a large army, including allied contingents. Ramses' army marched from Egypt and in one month had gathered perhaps as many as 20 000 men, composed of four divisions of 5000. Each of the divisions consisted of 500 chariots and infantry; they were named after the gods: Amon, Re, Ptah, Seth. King Muwatallis' army consisted of 8000 to 37 000 men. The Hittite chariots numbered around 3500 machines in a force of about 10 000 men. Each of the 2500 Egyptian chariots were served by a crew of two and were a firing platform for archers; they were light and flexible. The Hittite chariots were heavier, crewed by three (a driver, soldier and shield-bearer) and presumably designed for shock attack. The Hittite king cunningly hid his army behind the mound on which the city of Kadesh was built. Assuming that the enemy had withdrawn, Ramses hurried towards Kadesh and set up camp. The 2500 Muwatallis' chariots charged out from hiding, scattering two Egyptian divisions. Ramses led his bodyguard and chariots in a desperate charge (like the pounce of a falcon) in an attempt to halt the Hittites, who looted the Egyptian camp before being driven out by fresh Egyptian troops (Nearinu, Ptah division). Ramses had won the battle but lost the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article I point out that Jeffrey Rop's arguments for the Assyrian origin of the scythed chariot are not based on the historical evidence. The only note of Ctesias on Assyrian scythed chariots is questionable. The Assyrian hypothesis is not supported either by Mesopotamian cuneiform or the abundant Assyrian iconography. The Persian origin hypothesis remains more probable and widespread among modern scholars. It is based on more reliable ancient sources (Xenophon, Arrian) and should be supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron Age chariot burials in the UK are rare and restricted in their distribution. Historically it has been suggested that their Arras culture affinities with Continental Europe, particularly with the Paris basin in France, may be indicative of migration. The majority of them are found on chalk and the putative source region is also chalk. This has meant that a study using only strontium isotopes to identify mobile individuals is problematic. Here we present a range of isotope ratio data (strontium, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and sulphur) for seven chariot burials from Wetwang, Garton Station and Kirkburn. The majority of them are of men and women who were born and lived locally, although the individual from Kirkburn is likely to have spent his childhood elsewhere. They do, however, differ quite subtly from others in the local population, probably in their relationship to a local land-use pattern operating between two distinct biospheres. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Journal of Egyptian History is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This contribution argues that the horses and chariots of fire in II Reg 6,15b-17 play an important function in the plot of II Reg 6,8-23. These verses contribute to irony in the story, to the theme of »seeing«, and it is likely that they are the means by which God smites the Arameans with the sanwerîm (v. 18). Their irrelevancy to the plot cannot be sustained as a sufficient argument for considering these verses to be a later addition to the pericope. Résumé: On avance ici l'hypothèse que les chevaux et les chariots de feu en II Rois 6,15b-17 jouent un rôle important quant à l'action de II Rois 6,8-23. Ces versets constituent un apport ironique au récit quant au thème du »voir«, et ce sont probablement là les instruments à l'aide desquels Dieu fracasse les Araméens, avec les sanwerîm (v. 18). Leur non-pertinence pour l'action en cours ne peut ainsi servir d'argument suffisant pour considérer ces versets comme une addition tardive à la péricope. Zusammenfassung: In diesem Beitrag wird argumentiert, dass die feurigen Rosse und Streitwagen in II Reg 6,15b-17 eine wichtige Funktion in der Handlung von II Reg 6,8-23 innehaben. Diese Verse tragen zur Ironie der Geschichte, dem Thema »sehen«, bei, und wahrscheinlich sind diese feurigen Rosse und Streitwagen das Mittel, durch welches Gott die Aramäer mit sanwerîm schlägt (v. 18). Ihre Irrelevanz für die Handlung kann kein ausreichendes Argument dafür sein, diese Verse einer späteren Ergänzung der Perikope zuzurechnen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin of Chinese chariots has been regarded as one of the most important issues of the early West-East interaction. Many scholars have demonstrated that chariots were introduced from the Urals and the Caucasus in Central Asia to the Yellow River Valley, and have proposed two possible transmission routes. Stuart Piggot first maps a transmission route through the historical Silk Road across present day Xinjiang and Hexi Corridor to the Shang capital at present day Anyang, Henan. Recently, some scholars suggest a northern route starting from the southern Urals, through southern Siberia, Mongolia, then along the Taihang Mountains down to Anyang. To illuminate this issue, this paper adopts the ideas of set and package to re-examine the earliest Shang chariot burials to reveal the nature of the Shang chariot driving-and-fighting skill. It then examines the development of this skill and associated ideas in the wider Eurasian context to demonstrate that the transmission of chariots to Anyang was along the northern steppe route rather than the southern historical Silk Road. In addition to mapping this transmission, what is more important for our understanding of it is that we should recognize the importance of exchange of artifacts and technologies in the constitution of societies during this period. This transmission should be understood as a series of interactions of peoples in a chain-like network from the Urals to Anyang. It was in such a network, exchanges and further local transformations of the package of chariot skill and idea were achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than treating redistribution as an undifferentiated economic function, scholars currently recognize that multiple forms may occur simultaneously. In this Forum Article, I focus on one such form in detail, specifically, the redistributive system that financed the production of prestige goods at the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. I employ the manufacture of chariots, perfumed oils, and textiles as case studies. The three industries had a number of features in common. They required raw materials that were dispersed. Their managers collected dispersed raw materials and allocated them to specialists, who added value to them through skilled labor and who produced composite artifacts that were then redistributed by palatial authorities to an exclusive group of recipients. While similarities in the management of the industries reflect an overall policy of resource mobilization through which palace authorities garnered the loyalty of an emergent class of secondary elites, the inconsistencies in the manner in which the industries were run also suggest that redistribution was not fully standardized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses an Etruscan chariot dating to the sixth century B.C.E. discovered at Monteleone di Spoleto in Italy, and provides details on its reconstruction and restoration by the Department of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The chariot is described in detail, and the circumstances of its discovery in 1902 are examined. Commentary on the symbolic and cultural significance of chariots is provided, and the iconography of the Monteleone chariot's decoration is explored.

Copyright of Res Antiquitatis: Journal of Ancient History is the property of Centro de Historia de Alem-Mar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An image of different types of chariots during the bronze age is presented.

References for the articles published in the 2010 issue of the "Acta Archaeologica," are presented.

The article examines the transportation tools that the cultures in the Scandinavian regions used during the Neolithic era. It mentions that the bronze trade was the important catalyst for development in the region where the locals aslo produce woven clothes, weapons and drinking sets. An illustration of the Florence chariot is also presented.

The article focuses on the archaeological functionality of the Gallemose hoard which was discovered in Jutland, Denmark. It states that the Gallemose find closely resembles to the Egyptian real-life chariots where the rods are connected by a small open V-shaped element. The functional interpretation made for the Gallemose hoard is further highlighted.

The article examines the function of the double-arm knobs for the chariots during the Bronze Age in Central Europe. It notes that the existence of double-arm knobs particularly in the Slovakia and Middle Danubian basin led to the idea these metal items have been used as weapons and as an important symbol of power. The function of double-arm knobs on two-wheeled chariots, the knobs in the Scandinavian rock carvings, and the use of knobs as an adaptation in a metal-rich period are also discussed.

The article focuses on the representation of wheeled vehicles during the Bronze Age in the Scandinavian Peninsula. It offers information on the motif of the wheeled vehicles found in the areas of Scania, Sweden, south-western Jutland and north-western Zealand in Denmark in 1902. It also discusses the use of spoke wheels and other objects in the vehicles and the depiction of the Sun Chariot found in Trundholm Mose which is made during 1400 before Christ (B.C.).

Graves from the Third Millennium BC uncovered in the Northern Black Sea region provide numerous examples of wagons with massive disc wheels. While corresponding finds in the complexes of the Yamnaja Culture (first half of the Third Millennium BC) have been interpreted primarily as four-wheel heavy vehicles, in recent decades there has been an attempt to reconstruct the two-wheel vehicle finds of the later Catacomb Grave Culture (second half of Third Millennium BC) as prototypes of chariots. Several arguments are provided against the idea that these vehicles were the forerunners of the two-wheel lightweight chariots in the Southern Urals foreland, which are evidenced in the graves of the prevalent Sintashta Culture beginning in 2040 BC. One main argument is the fact that no finds have been discovered between the two territories, areas, which lie 1,500 kilometres apart, that might have lent plausibility to the idea of mutual contact, which could in turn have led to the development of chariots to the east of the Urals based on the older ''prototypes'' in the Northern Black Sea region as well as in the Caucasus foreland. In addition, there is considerable doubt that the two-wheel vehicles of the Catacomb Grave Culture can indeed be considered as a kind of prototype of the chariot. The harness parts necessary for their meaningful use with horses, for example, is first evidenced in the wagons of the Sintashta Culture. In addition to these, bony discoid cheek-pieces were deposited in the graves, which spread from the settlement area of this culture into the steppe region to the west of the Urals during the first half of the Second Millennium BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trundholm sun chariot is characterized by extraordinary aesthetics. The front and the back side of the Trundholm disc represent through their difference in brilliance and decoration a separate concept -- the Sun and the Moon. The analysis of these exquisite decorations demonstrates that the Bronze Age people had profound astronomical knowledge of the movements of these heavenly bodies. Taken together, the front and the back side of the disc form a complete picture, one which already contains the Metonic cycle. The mathematics of the ornamentation on both sides is also of great potency and beauty. The Trundholm disc is thus the key to understanding the Nordic style and its underlying creation myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

On the basis of a few Hittite sources, which allude to the place of the king's cart and attendants in some legal proceedings, it is suggested that the pericope II Sam 15,1–6, although cast in the form of a casual narrative depicting Absalom's regal pomp and manoeuvres to press his claim to the throne, reflects in fact the outlines of royal legal proceedings. It is shown that the pericope is strewn with various technical terms from the realm of legal proceedings, and these include the royal cart and the fifty runners, which seem to have played a defined role in such legal proceedings presided over by the king in ancient times, as well as the (ratifying) kiss and the bow mentioned in v. 5. Absalom thus seems to be underlining thereby one of the main roles of the king in ancient times – that of the supreme judge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout Western European history, wheeled vehicles have been prominently included in religious and political (especially kingly) ceremony and iconography to encode aristocratic authority and ideals and to connect society with cosmological powers. Four contexts of ceremonial vehicle usage are interpreted as they have appeared and reappeared over the millennia: I) their relationship with cosmological realms and the concept of travel between human society and otherworldly domains; 2) the ritual identification of wheeled vehicles themselves as sacred objects; 3) their significance in political-ideological processions featuring the well-being of humankind; 4) their usefulness as instruments expressing concepts of spirit/motion and matter/ stasis, especially as these involve skilled crafting and aesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rock drawing in north-west Arabia shows a rider, a chariot and a foot soldier in battle. It is exceptional not only for its subject (at present unique) but for its use of a mixture of the artistic conventions employed in Arabian rock art and those used in Neo-Assyrian and Egyptian art. The three different parts of the composition have ‘captions’ in the Thamudic B script identifying the artists and the subjects, including the first occurrence of an Ancient North Arabian word for chariot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to determine whether Parmenides intended the chariot imagery of his poem to be construed allegorically, as argued by Sextus Empiricus. Modern interpreters have rejected the allegorical reading, arguing that Sextus was biased by Plato, the allegory's true author. There are, however, reasons to believe that a tradition (either native or imported) of employing the chariot image allegorically preexisted Plato and Parmenides. This article argues that Parmenides was drawing upon such a tradition and did portray mind as a charioteer upon a path of knowledge, and impulse as the horses, requiring guidance in order to reach the destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses on the reputation of Roman charioteers. Commemorative inscriptions and literary evidence reveal a low life expectancy for charioteers with few living beyond 30. Roman charioteers had a reputation of a rather darker stripe as reflected by the violence of their occupation. They are perceived in general as rough, uncouth characters.

The Tutankhamun-class chariot is the earliest high-performance machine, most likely developed via racing and thoughtful mechanistic modelling and testing, and made with exquisite craftsmanship. The complex suspension system of springs and dampers comprises simple elements that are useful by chance, and also some well-designed and expensive components and subassemblies for advantages in structural dynamics and ride quality. These chariots' spokes and joints have aircraft-like damage tolerance, and are more sophisticated than those of any veteran car with wooden wheels. A substantially better overall design with the ancient materials of construction is difficult to visualize even if we apply our knowledge and computerized methods. This makes the Egyptian chariot an excellent example of original and advanced design, and a formidable challenge in further engineering investigations aimed at a full understanding of the ancients' achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tutankhamun-class chariot, the earliest high-performance machine, existed in its refined form for about five centuries. Eight complete vehicles have survived and support the argument that they surpass all monumental structures of the pharaohs in engineering sophistication. There is no evidence of chariot racing from that era, but these chariots have many technical features that imply a pedigree based on racing. Several elements hint of thoughtful invention, advanced physical modelling and experimentation, with results that sometimes drastically and favourably differ from our concepts of vehicle design. It is difficult for us to envision a substantially better chariot made with the ancient materials of construction even if we were to apply our most advanced formulas and methods. There are two major areas of chariot analysis from an engineering standpoint, and both are accessible to non-specialists. The complex suspension system of springs and shock absorbers has advantages in structural dynamics, ride quality and safety. An example of the latter is a dual-purpose anti-roll device. The chariots’ wheels have aircraft-like damage tolerance, and have fundamentally more perfect spokes and joints for carrying multi-axial loads than the wooden spokes of any classic car. This paper covers the essential technical features and historical perspectives of these chariots for archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beginning of the Late Bronze Age, i.e. the late fifteenth–early fourteenth centuries BC, saw the emergence of chariots in Transcaucasia, where rich barrows of this period yielded bronze chariot models. The latter correspond to the type of chariots widespread in the western Near East in the late sixteenth–early thirteenth centuries BC. Hence it can be inferred that, regardless of the ultimate origin of Near Eastern chariots, Transcaucasian specimens belong to the Near Eastern tradition. However, in Transcaucasia, in contradistinction to the Near East, the chariot was merely a prestige marker. The growing role of the horse indicative of horseback riding is attested by some Transcaucasian funeral complexes of the late second millennium BC, which correspond to those of the steppes of south Russia. It seems likely that the builders of these barrows were related to the Iranian population of the Russian steppes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses Greek writer Diodoros' account of the battle at Delion in 424 B.C. Euripides' account of the battle for the return of the dead Argives in his 'Supplices'; Diodoros' assertion that chariots were present in the fighting at Delion; Absence of evidence for the use of chariots by any Greek hoplite army; Archaism of language which preserved the title of 'charioteers and their riders' for an elite group of the Theban army.

The article presents an examination into the language describing the failure of the mechanisms of the chariots referenced in the Old Testament passage of Exodus 14:25. Topics addressed include discussion of Hebrew terminology used in the passage, suggestions on how the wheels became "bound" as described in the passage, and mechanical forms to obstruct a six- or four-spoked chariot wheel.

The article provides a summary of the views of Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes on apobates. Demosthenes stresses that only the best men join this event which involves warriors riding in chariots and advocates courage and high-spiritedness. He also noted an incident in the sport wherein the hero Epikrates gained his fame following his victory that made him outdo his competitors in the race. Based on various grounds held by the author, he stresses that Demosthenes highlighted the equestrian nature of the sport. Apart from this, he also notes that apobates is one of the most significant events of the Panathenaia.