Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a prehistoric chariot wheel at a new golf course near Inverness.
The rare discovery was made during excavations at the Old Petty championship golf course, which is currently in development.
The chariot wheel was found in a pit used for cremations thousands of years ago.
Experts from Avon Archaeology Highland also uncovered a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age cremation urn and evidence of 25 Neolithic wooden buildings at the site.
Archaeologists pore over a prehistoric chariot wheel at the site
AVON ARCHAEOLOGY HIGHLAND
A reconstructed Iron Age urn from the excavation
PA
Their findings shed significant light on the ceremonial practices and farming life common in the area 6,000 years ago.
Flint tools and quern stones, used to grind down various materials, were also discovered alongside the Neolithic wooden buildings.
Evidence of medieval field systems and grain-drying kilns were among other finds at the site.
The excavations have also uncovered a prehistoric ceremonial circle, which has since been carefully reburied to preserve it.
The chariot wheel remains were discovered in a cremation pit inside a palisade circle, an area enclosed by a fence made of wooden posts.
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Archaeologists excavate a medieval animal enclosure at Lonnie
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Andy Young, principal archaeologist at Avon Archaeology Highland, described the wheel as "the most important of the discoveries".
"Not all the chariots were in East Yorkshire, it seems," Young noted - in reference to the Arras culture in the ancient East Riding.
And Stuart McColm, vice-president of golf development at Cabot, said: "This has been a remarkable journey from pre-historic times to the present, right here on our doorstep."
"It's humbling to think that our new championship course, Old Petty, will rest on such historically rich ground," he added.
Young said he was "always happy to see new archaeology emerge from the ground".
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Iron Age quern stones from the site
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He described some of the discoveries, "particularly relating to early Neolithic settlement and later prehistoric ceremonial and funerary activity" as "properly exceptional".
The findings are due to be radiocarbon dated later this year, coinciding with the opening of the golf course.
After documentation, the artefacts will be handed over to museums in Inverness and Edinburgh.
The discovery follows a previous archaeological find about 40 miles away at Birnie, near Elgin.
At that Iron Age site, archaeologists uncovered a small piece for a horse harness.
