Chariots in Ancient Egypt: The Tano Chariot, A Case Study

Chariots, the racing cars of the ancient world, first appeared in Egypt about 1600 BC, and quickly became not only the preferred mode of transport for royalty and the elite, but also revolutionised military tactics and warfare.Remains of chariots have been found in Egyptian tombs -Tutankhamun’s tomb contained six chariots, which tripled the number of ancient Egyptian chariots known before the discovery of his tomb.However, none of the chariots was complete, as all lacked their leather casings, which were only known from images on tomb and temple walls. In 2008, the Ancient Egyptian Leatherwork Project (AELP) working in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, found a cache of several trays of red and green leather containing some 60 large leather fragments.Some of these had been noted before, but the find had been largely ignored and buried in the depths of the museum.This remarkable object entered the museum in 1932, a purchase from the Tano family, reputable dealers at that time, hence the nick