In an old family picture, I noticed there is a statuette of a charioteer. It looks like the body of the chariot is reversed, but the driver is facing forward still. Was this a mistake in the sculpture, or was there really a chariot with the protective wall in the back instead of the front?
What would have been the use of such a chariot?
Open front chariots were used, mostly for pleasure and transportation. Chariots with the guard in front were preferred for fighting, but, the open front type simply makes for a better vehicle (you have a place to sit, you can see the horses better, and you have less in the way of the reins).
Source:
The Ancient Engineers, L. Sprague de Camp
What you're seeing there is a model of an ancient Roman war chariot, driver in front, archer standing behind.
Typically these war chariots had a little box in the back with low walls, in which the archer stood. The walls were low enough to provide some protection to his lower limbs from spear and swords in the thick of battle, but his upper body had a full 360-degree unobstructed view to maneuver his bow to shoot on all sides.
In the model, the archer appears to be standing on the platform behind the box, perhaps to get a better view from a higher vantage point, or maybe just artistic license on part of the sculptor.
