AN ANCIENT burial site of a tribal queen was unveiled in the region yesterday by archaeologists as the earliest of its kind found in Britain.

The skeleton of the queen, whose body had been placed in the third to fourth century BC grave with a dismantled state carriage reserved only for the elite, was found with decorative pieces of two horse harnesses.

The discovery, described as one of the most significant and exciting Middle Iron Age burials ever found in Britain, was uncovered during an excavation at Wetwang, near Driffield, Yorkshire.

It is thought that the village could be the tribal centre of Celtic Iron Age people who became know as the Parisi - the name from which Paris originates - in Julius Caesar's time.

David Miles, chief archaeologist for English Heritage, which funded the dig, said the find could provide experts with valuable clues about burials.

He said: "The person was clearly very important and was buried with a rite that is almost exclusive to East Yorkshire and has links to the continent.

"It may be the earliest chariot burial so far, and could help us solve the mystery of who these people were and why they buried their dead in a way different from other Iron Age Britons."

Experts initially believed the skeleton to be that of a warrior. But scientific tests on the bone and teeth suggested it was a woman. She was most probably a queen who had been laid to rest with her state carriage, which would be used to take her into the next life.