Veterans Celtic chariot parts under Anglesey

A team of active duty military and veterans unearthed parts from Celtic tanks at the airport in Anglesey.

In the new discovery, there is a Terret ring that will be used to guide the in-string of the Celtic chariot, which includes a red decorative inlay. The ring was discovered by David Ulke, a retired RAF squadron leader, and is the only three of this special decoration in Wales. It also provides a bridle bit that is considered a C60AD by providing the RAF Flight Surgeant Graham Moore. Similar to those found in Somerset, the bridle was probably worn by horses pulling Iron Age chariots.

These artifacts are believed to be the largest Iron Age hoard ever made in Wales. The swampy area on the west coast of Angles is an important site for the Celtics, and its significance is reflected in the excellent craftsmanship of the artifacts found there in 1942 when the RAF airport was built for American bombers. It used to be a lake, and once the peat bog was drained to build the airport, many animal bones and more than 150 bronze and iron objects were found. Weapons, tools, cauldrons, iron chains, ornamental bronzes, part of the chariot and horse gear between 300 and 100 BC

These swords were deliberately bent, and other functional objects that were broken or removed before deposition were part of the sacrifice habit of “killing” the devotion of the gods. The chariot was broken down into components found in the hoard, including iron wheels, basketballs in the middle, angle pins, terrets, terrets and 13 bronze and iron bridles.

Leaded by the Defence Infrastructure Organization (DIO) in partnership with Operation Nightingale, the excavation was scheduled for renovation in April 2024 at the RAF Valley Airport in the fall. The team found that Terret and Bridle-Bit were in good condition and were preserved by an anaerobic environment.

Prehistoric Senior Curator of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum of Wales, Adam Gwilt said:

Surprisingly, these 2,000-year-old artifacts remain so intact in shallow cement peat deposits, previously moved from an ancient lake nearby and dragged to the airport 80 years ago! Both Bridle-Bit and Terret are styles that are not represented in the original collection. They added important new information about religious gift objects entering the lake at the end of the Iron Age, or around the time when Roman troops invaded Anglesey.

The senior coroner in North Wales (West) called the newly discovered artifact treasures. They will join Amgueddfa Cymru – other objects of the Llyn Cerrig Bach building blocks at the Welsh Museum.