A four-wheeled chariot has been found in Civita Giuliana just outside
the city walls of ancient Pompeii in the portico of a villa from which
the remains of three horses, one in full harness, had been previously excavated. The chariot was discovered during a dig conducted under the
auspices of the public prosecutor's office, who were continuing an investigation of illegal tunneling on the site by looters.

<http://pompeiisites.org/en/comunicati/the-four-wheeled-processional-char iot-the-last-discovery-of-pompeii/>

<https://tinyurl.com/y79qdum9>

"This is an exceptional discovery, not only because it adds an
additional element to the history of this dwelling and the story of the
last moments in the lives of those who lived in it, as well as more
generally to our understanding of the ancient world, but above all
because it represents a unique find - which has no parallel in Italy
thus far - in an excellent state of preservation.

The ongoing excavation project has a dual objective: firstly, to
cooperate with the investigations of the Public Prosecutor¹s Office of
Torre Annunziata, in order to bring an end to the looting of cultural
heritage by perpetrators who had dug several tunnels in the area in
order to intercept archaeological treasures, and secondly, to reveal one
of the most significant villas of the Vesuvian area and to protect it
from further looting."

"What we have is a ceremonial chariot, probably the Pilentum referred to
by some sources, which was employed not for everyday use or for
agricultural transport, but to accompany community festivities, parades
and processions. This type of chariot, which has never before emerged
from Italian soil, bears comparison with finds uncovered around fifteen
years ago inside a burial mound in Thrace (in northern Greece, near the Bulgarian border). One of the Thracian chariots is particularly similar
to ours, even if it lacks the extraordinary figurative decorations that accompany the Pompeian find.

The scenes on the medallions which embellish the rear of the chariot
refer to Eros (Satyrs and nymphs), while the numerous studs feature
erotes. Considering that the ancient sources allude to the use of the
Piletum by priestesses and ladies, one cannot exclude the possibility
that this could have been a chariot used for rituals relating to
marriage, for leading the bride to her new household."

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