4,000-year-old burial site with chariots found in Georgia

Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient burial site dating back 4,000 years containing chariots, gold artefacts and possible human sacrifices in Georgia.

The burial site may have been intended for a chief in the Early Bronze Age.

Archaeologists discovered the timber burial chamber within a 39-foot-high mound called a 'kurgan' along with two chariots, each with four wooden wheels.

The team discovered ornamented clay and wooden vessels, flint and obsidian arrowheads, leather and textile artefacts, a wooden armchair, carnelian and amber beads and 23 golden artefacts, including rare and artistic crafted jewellery.

"In the burial chamber were placed two four-wheeled chariots, both in good condition, the design of which represents fine ornamental details of various styles," Zurab Makharadze, head of the centre of archaeology at the Georgian National Museum, told Live Science.

"One of them was a chief and others should be the members of his family, sacrificed slaves or servants," Makharadze said.

The burial dates back to a time before domesticated horses appeared in the area, Makharadze added.

The appearance of these rich burials appears to be connected to interactions that occurred between nomadic people from the Eurasian steppes and farming communities within and near the south Caucasus, he said.

The findings were presented at the International Congress on Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, held at the University of Basel in Switzerland.