The sun and the moon – and one need not be a scientist to know this – have been moving solemnly along their paths across the firmament since the dawn of time. Observation of the sky reveals this: the sun by day, the moon by night. But how do they move? Where does the sun hide at night?

Since the 4th millennium BC, the chariot has appeared in religion and cult as a vehicle for celestial bodies. Ships and depictions of stylised human figures are also found in the visual imagery, not only as bronze objects, but also in rock carvings and as clay models. The vehicles are often accompanied or drawn by horses, waterfowl, bulls or deer.

Cult vehicles did not merely keep the celestial bodies in motion. Humans, too, travelled to the afterlife in a chariot at the end of their lives – at least important figures did. Their bereaved relatives erected impressive burial mounds for them and laid them to rest within magnificent cult chariots. The common people, by contrast, were cremated with numerous grave goods during the Late Bronze Age.

The Trundholm cult chariot depicts the sun as a disc: gleaming gold on one side, dark on the other. When the chariot moves to the right, the golden side is visible, and the sun shines brightly, illuminating the day. When the chariot moves in the opposite direction, the disc is dark, and night falls.

What’s the duck doing on the chariot?

Small figurines of horses and people, some wearing and some without military gear, are often permanently attached to Bronze Age ritual chariots. They also appear carved into rocks. But the star of the show was an animal you certainly wouldn’t have expected: the duck. Ducks were particularly revered back then. Why? Because this animal can do more than any other. It can swim in water, fly in the air and walk on land. Well, waddle, really. Ducks can be found on breastplates, greaves, cauldrons and on both small and large chariots. They were probably meant to bring good luck and protect people. Even from the wheel slipping off their chariot: there were also axle pins shaped like ducks. Can you spot the duck-shaped pin?