Now! Then! 2024! - Yorkshire On This Day

Excerpt

In the rock below the centre was an oblong grave. In the north corner, at the west end of the grave, was a pile of unburnt human bones, accompanied by the tooth of an ox. At the east end was a similar heap, consisting of the bones of two or more persons, on the top of which was a splinter of dark flint and a keen-edged and peculiarly-formed flint knife of the same colour. It is worthy of note that from this deposit two burnt splinters from a human leg-bone were taken. The bones of each of these deposits must have been freed, in a great measure, from the flesh, thoroughly disjointed, and some of them broken to pieces, previous to interment, otherwise they could not have been heaped together in the close manner in which they were found. Some of the bones of the legs and arms were entire, but all the lower jaws had been broken, in two or more pieces, and the skulls into numerous fragments, and were mixed up in the heaps. Similarly puzzling deposits were also found in neighbouring barrows, and they seem to have been peculiar to the barrows of this neighbourhood. Of such a strange mode of burial we have historical proof, for Diodorus Siculus, writing of the Carthaginians, says, “They have a strange custom about burying the dead. They cut the body up in pieces and put all the parts in an urn, and rear a great heap of stones over it.”

Comment

Comment

An intriguing notional connection – has someone commented on it? The (posterior) Roman road, presumably on a previous track, just to the west creates even more fun. Historic England on part of the barrow complex.

Mortimer makes a curious error: Diodorus’s ethnology is of the Balearics, not the Carthaginians. I doubt Mortimer or his vicar father-in-law knew Ancient Greek, so the edition he accessed was probably similar to George Booth’s – previous para included because it recalls a certain Barcelona wedding:

They have a filthy custom likewise among them concerning their marriages; for in their marriage feasts, all their friends and household servants, as they are in seniority of age, one after another, carnally know the bride, till at length it come to the bridegroom’s turn, who has the honour to be last. They have another strange custom likewise about the burying of their dead; they cut the carcass in pieces with wooden knives or axes, and so put up all the parts into an urn, and then raise up a great heap of stones over it (Diodorus Siculus 1700).

(Here’s Loeb.)

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Original

BARROW No. 50.
This barrow is near the western margin of some double entrenchments situated west of Aldro, and just opposite to barrow No. 113, which touches the east side of the same entrenchments. On March 19th, 1866, it measured 70 feet across, but was so far reduced as to give an elevation of 9 to 10 inches only. We turned over most of this barrow, but only found 5 handstruck pieces, and a circular disc of dark flint, several splinters of human and animal bone, and three small portions of a food-vase. In the rock below the centre was an oblong grave, 2 feet 9 inches deep, and measuring 6½ feet east and west, and 4 feet in the opposite direction. In the north corner, at the west end of the grave, was a pile of unburnt human bones, accompanied by the tooth of an ox. At the east end was a similar heap, consisting of the bones of two or more persons, on the top of which was a splinter of dark flint and a keen-edged and peculiarly-formed flint knife (fig. 172) of the same colour and measuring 1⅝ inches long and 1¼ inches broad. It is worthy of note that from this deposit two burnt splinters from a human leg-bone were taken. The bones of each of these deposits must have been freed, in a great measure, from the flesh, thoroughly disjointed, and some of them broken to pieces, previous to interment, otherwise they could not have been heaped together in the close manner in which they were found. Some of the bones of the legs and arms were entire, but all the lower-jaws had been broken, in two or more pieces, and the skulls into numerous fragments, and were mixed up in the heaps. Similarly puzzling deposits were also found in the neighbouring barrows Nos. 52, 53, and 54,[Footnote: Of such a strange mode of burial we have historical proof, for Diodorus Siculus, writing of the Carthaginians, says, “They have a strange custom about burying the dead. They cut the body up in pieces and put all the parts in an urn, and rear a great heap of stones over it.”] and they seem to have been peculiar to the barrows of this neighbourhood. The only other deposits of the kind which have come under our observation were in barrows Nos. 99, C.63, and 72.
The bottom of the grave contained unctuous earth, which 8 to 10 inches above, was replaced by rubbly chalk, which in turn was followed by another stratum of unctuous earth, reaching to the top and joining the base of the barrow. Scattered throughout the grave were numerous splinters of human bone (portions of skulls, and fragments of leg and arm bones), and bits of burnt wood, a few pieces of animal bone, two small portions of a food-vase, and one small piece of black flint.

471 words.

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Tags are assigned inclusively on the basis of an entry’s original text and any comment. You may find this confusing if you only read an entry excerpt.

• 📌Aldro (1) ·
• Ancient Carthage (1) ·
• Ancient Greece (1) ·
• Archaeological excavation (2) ·
• Archaeology (4) ·
• Balearic Islands (1) ·
• Bibliotheca historica (1) ·
• Burial (12) ·
• Diodorus Siculus (1) ·
• Driffield (12) ·
• Earthworks (archaeology) (1) ·
• East Riding of Yorkshire (66) ·
• Grave goods (2) ·
• 📌Malton, North Yorkshire (11) ·
• Mortimer, John Robert (1825-1911) (1), corn-merchant and archaeologist, excavated many barrows in the Yorkshire Wolds, including Duggleby Howe, founder of a pioneering museum of archaeology at Driffield ·
• Neolithic British Isles (2) ·
• Neolithic Europe (2) ·
• Neolithic (2) ·
• Punic people (1) ·
• Tumulus (2) ·
• Yorkshire Wolds (23) ·

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