who, during the siege of York, already referred to, erected what Drake calls a "terrible battery" on this hill.[1] A closer inspection of the bones, however, soon served to convince me, that they are of much higher antiquity than the civil wars of the seventeenth century; and by further investigation into the character of the tumulus, such a view was altogether refuted. The only probable relics of the occupation of Lamel-hill by the troops of Fairfax and Lesley, consist of a few coins, and a piece of cast-iron which weighs nearly two pounds, and seems to have formed part of the bottom of a large pot or boiler. A well-known iron founder of York informs me that he has little doubt that this had formed part of a camp-kettle, of a form different from those which are made at the present day. It was found at the foot of the hill, on the south side, within about two feet of the surface. The coins found at or near the surface of the hill, and to be attributed to this period, are chiefly of the reign of Charles the First, and consist of a silver penny well preserved, and two or three farthings of the Scotch coinage of that reign. There is likewise a small copper coin of the contemporary Louis the Thirteenth of France. I am informed, by a former occupier, that, forty or fifty years ago, as many as thirty or forty silver coins were found in the garden at the foot of the hill, but of what description I am unable to learn.
I was sufficiently interested by the results already obtained, to make arrangements, in which a few friends united, for a more systematic investigation of this place of burial. Upon digging more deeply on the west side of the tumulus, it was soon ascertained that the bones existed in the shape of complete skeletons; though many of the smaller bones of the hands, feet, &c., had perished in the lapse of time. After digging several deep holes in various directions in the sides of the tumulus, and almost uniformly finding bones or skeletons, a horizontal shaft, about four feet wide, and six and a half feet high, was commenced on the south-west side, about fifteen feet from the summit. In cutting this tunnel, the bones of several complete skeletons were found. It was now observed that the skeletons were laid at pretty regular distances; not more than two or three feet of earth, more or less mixed with stones, intervening between every two skeletons. I also found that the skeletons were uniformly laid from west to east,—the feet to the east. After tunnelling, in the way
- ↑ Drake, p. 262.
