The third chariot burial ever found in Britain and prehistoric burials that may have been the result of bizarre vampire-slaying rituals have been discovered in Yorkshire.

The chariot burial will be the focus of BBC Four's Digging for Britain.

The episode will feature Britain's most spectacular grave discovered by a team of archaeologists in East Yorkshire.

The team discovered something 'completely unprecedented' when they discovered an elderly man, believed to be in his sixties or seventies, buried in his chariot along with the two ponies that had once pulled it.

This is the first chariot burial with animal skeletons to be discovered in this country.

The team found the only Iron Age chariot with standing horses found in Britain (
Image:
BBC)
Archaeologists discovered the unparalleled Iron Age discovery near Pocklington (
Image:
BBC)

Narrating Alice Roberts says: "The discovery of two animal skeletons transforms this unusual burial into something completely unprecedent."

Archaeologists also unearthed a pair of 3rd century BC Iron Age graves near the town of Pocklington which may have been the result of bizarre vampire-slaying rituals.

According to the Independent , the bodies are believed to be have been individuals of high status and had some bizarre rituals performed on them.

The episode will air on BBC Four (
Image:
BBC)

The first grave contained a male warrior, believed to be aged between 17 and 25, and he may have been killed two or three times.

An examination of the skeleton found his body had been pierced by nine spears (five with iron tips and four with bone ones) after he was dead.

The warrior was also found to have been bashed on the forehead.

One explanation for the body being pierced by spears is that he may have died of natural causes and not in battle. The ritual of spearing his corpse might have allowed him th privilege of dying a warrior's death.

The man was buried alongside his two ponies (
Image:
BBC)

An alternative theory is that the warrior may have been feared for being a suspected vampire, and individuals who were thought to be vampires were 'neutralised' through spearing. This would explain why the skeleton was found with metal still inside it.

Digging for Britain will air on BBC Four on December 19.