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Development of a new golf course in the Scottish Highlands led to the discovery of an ancient cremation pit.
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Inside the circular pit, archaeologists discovered an Iron Age chariot wheel—believed to be the first found in the Highlands near Inverness.
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Archaeologists also discovered evidence of at least 25 Neolithic wooden structures across the nearly 125-acre site.
Cabot Highlands is sculpting a 123-acre site in the pristine Scottish Highlands near Inverness into a championship-caliber golf course. But lost balls and sand traps aren’t the only things unexpectedly turning up at the site.
Now there’s a chariot wheel.
As crews continue to prep the new Old Petty course for a 2026 grand opening, details of archaeological finds during construction continue to surface, including the discovery of a “rare” Iron Age chariot wheel by the team from Avon Archaeology Highland.
When the wheel was first revealed, those on site figured it was a more recent farming remnant from a site that had been in agricultural use until about 500 years ago. They were wrong.
“They are such a rare thing,” said Andy Young, principal archaeologist at Avon Archaeology Highland, according to BBC. “None of us had really seen one before in terms of physically excavating one. We were a bit bemused.”
This is the first case of a chariot wheel discovered in the Highlands, Young said, and one of only a handful in all of Scotland. The wheel was buried in a cremation pit that had been used thousands of years ago, which was once cordoned off by a wooden fence. Experts believe the wheel was likely included in a ritual ceremony (akin to finds in England).
While the chariot wheel may have had the most striking impact, it wasn’t the only discovery across what will soon be Old Petty. The team found flint tools and at least 25 Neolithic wood buildings. There was also a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age cremation urn and evidence of grain-drying kilns. It all “painted a picture of ancient life in the Highlands,” Young said, “from ceremonial practices to agricultural innovation.”
The archaeologists plan to radiocarbon date the items to pinpoint their age before Cabot Highlands sends them to either the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh or the Inverness Museum.
“This has been a remarkable journey from prehistoric times to the present, right here on our doorstep,” said Stuart McColm, vice president of golf development for Cabot Highlands, according to The Scottish Sun. “It’s humbling to think that our new championship course, Old Petty, will rest on such historically rich ground.”
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