Archeologists unearth intact ancient Roman chariot near Pompeii

Italian officials call the discovery of the four-wheeled carriage made of iron, bronze and tin ‘exceptional’.

Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed an ancient Roman ceremonial carriage from a villa just outside Pompeii, the city buried in a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. The almost perfectly preserved four-wheeled carriage made of iron, bronze and tin was found near the stables of an ancient villa at Civita Giuliana, some 700 metres (2,297 feet) north of the walls of ancient Pompeii. Massimo Osanna, the outgoing director of the Pompeii archaeological site, said the carriage was the first of its kind discovered in the area, which had so far yielded functional vehicles used for transport and work, but not for ceremonies.