An Early Bronze Age Burial in a Boat-shaped Wooden Coffin from North-east Yorkshire

H. W. Elgee; F. Elgee

doi:10.1017/S0079497X00019228

An Early Bronze Age Burial in a Boat-shaped Wooden Coffin from North-east Yorkshire

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 May 2014

H. W. Elgee and

F. Elgee

Article contents

Extract
References

Get access

Rights & Permissions

Extract

In 1937 the writers, with the help of members of the technical staff of I.C.I., Billingham, and of a W.E.A. Class on local prehistory, excavated Loose Howe, a large round barrow which, as shown on the Map (Fig. 1), stands above the head of Rosedale almost at the centre of the Eastern Moorlands of Yorkshire.

Permission to excavate was kindly granted by the landowners, Milburn Estates Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne, with the proviso that we began after the close of the grouse-shooting season. We were therefore obliged to carry out the work in October and November, and then only at week-ends when our helpers were free. The weather was often bad, and this considerably increased the difficulties of what proved to be an arduous excavation.

The Howe is situated in Lat. 54° 23′ 53″ N. and Long. 0° 55′ 04″ w. where Danby High Moor to the north adjoins Glaisdale Moor to the east on the central watershed of the Eastern Moorlands. It stands on rising ground a few yards north of the road from Ralph Cross to Rosedale Abbey and is a conspicuous landmark for miles around. Its elevation, 1400 feet, makes it one of the highest in the whole of Eastern Yorkshire. In this respect it is only exceeded by Drake Howe (1427 feet) on the Cleveland hill, Cranimoor, and by four small barrows at 1480 feet on Urra Moor where, above Ingleby Greenhow, the moorlands reach their greatest elevation of 1489 feet.

Type: Research Article
Information: Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society , Volume 15 , 1949 , pp. 87 - 106

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0079497X00019228 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Prehistoric Society 1949

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

^{page 87 note *} We are particularly grateful to Dr B. W. Bradford for preparing the plan and section of the howe; to Dr T. D. Kendrick, Keeper of the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities, British Museum for the plan and elevation of the coffin, and Mr C. W. Starnes for the other plans, elevations and cross sections; to the Trustees of the British Museum, Messrs T. Brigham, G. O. Fox, and Dr R. Quarrenden for the use of photographs; and to Dr T. D. Kendrick and Prof. C. F. C. Hawkes for help and information. We feel we cannot omit the thanks of all to Mr and Mrs P. Wood of Billingham, who served us with a never-failing supply of hot drinks.

^{page 90 note 1} Atkinson, J. C., ‘Further Researches in Cleveland Grave-Hills’, Gentleman's Mag., XV, pp. 548–52, Nov. 1863Google Scholar.

^{page 90 note 2} ibid.

^{page 90 note 3} Phillips, J., Rivers, Mountains and Sea-Coast of Yorks., 1853, pp. 210–12Google Scholar.

^{page 90 note 4} Greenwell, W., British Barrows, p. 335Google Scholar; Arch. Jour. XXII, pp. 17–18Google Scholar.

^{page 97 note 1} Atkinson, op. cit. The objects are in the British Museum.

^{page 97 note 2} Atkinson Collection, British Museum.

^{page 98 note 1} Bateman Collection, Sheffield Museum.

^{page 98 note 2} Kendall Collection, Yorkshire Museum, York.

^{page 98 note 3} Bateman Collection, Sheffield Museum.

^{page 98 note 4} Evans, J., Ancient Stone Implements, Fig. 140a, p. 212Google Scholar.

^{page 98 note 5} Smith, R. A., ‘The Perforated Axe-Hammers of Britain’, Arch. LXXV (1924–1925)Google Scholar.

^{page 98 note 6} Elgee, F., Early Man in North-east Yorks., 1930, p. 97Google Scholar.

^{page 98 note 7} (a) Tissiman, J., Jour. Brit. Arch. Assoc., VI, p. 3, 1850Google Scholar. Headless pin (1¾ inches long), Scarborough Museum. From Ravenhill Barrow, near Peak.

(b) Disc from barrow on same moor.

(d) Bronze fragments in an urn on Kilburn Moor. We saw these in a private collection at Thirsk some years ago.

^{page 98 note 8} Elgee, op. cit., p. 97.

^{page 99 note 1} British Barrows, no. CLII, pp. 357–61.

^{page 99 note 2} Mortimer, J. R., Forty Years' Researches, p. 7Google Scholar, Fig. 12. Another somewhat different dagger also from Towthorpe and with a skeleton, op. cit., Plate 1, Fig. 6.

^{page 99 note 3} In British Museum. Sheppard, T., in The Antiquary, XXXVIII, 1902, pp. 80–1Google Scholar.

^{page 99 note 4} ‘The Early Bronze Age in Wessex’, in Proc. P.S., IV, 1938, p. 92Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 1} Elgee, op. cit., p. 73.

^{page 101 note 2} For a recent account of these with full references, see Whiting, C. E., ‘Ancient Log Coffins in Britain’, Trans. Arch, and Architect. Soc. of Durham and Northumberland, VIII, Part 1, 1937Google Scholar. See also Arch. Yorks., pp. 64–5, and Early Man, pp. 73–5.

^{page 101 note 3} Whiting, C. E., op. cit., pp. 83, 87, 94.

^{page 101 note 4} Lukis, W. C., in Y.A.J., vol. 1, p. 169, 1869–1870Google Scholar; Ant. Journ. XIX (1939), 90Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 5} Whiting, C. E., op. cit., p. 98.

^{page 101 note 6} Annual Register, March 12, 1767. Hutchins, , Dorset, vol. 1, p. 25Google Scholar. Gough, , Camden 1, p. 70Google Scholar, Plate 2. Warne, , Celtic Tumuli, p. 4Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 7} Piggott, in P.P.S., 1938, p. 106Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 8} Curwen, E. C., Prehistoric Sussex, 2nd ed., 1930, pp. 33–6Google Scholar. Evans, , Stone Implements, p. 403Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 9} Clay, R. C. C., in Wilts. Arch. Mag. XLIV, pp. 101–5Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 10} Williamson, W. C., Tumulus opened at Gristhorpe, near Scarborough, 3rd ed., Scarborough, 1872Google Scholar.

^{page 101 note 11} See footnote 4.

^{page 101 note 12} British Barrows, 1877, pp. 375–7Google Scholar. Davis, J. B., in Reliquary, vol. VI, p. 1Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 1} Early Man, p. 75. We may note that the Gristhorpe coffin cover has a slot at the square end. Unlike our T-shaped slots this is of half-oval shape and undercut. When the coffin was discovered it was regarded as a face. From a drawing made for us by Mr T. L. Gwatkin of Scarborough Museum we can see no resemblance to a face. We cannot conjecture its purpose.

^{page 102 note 2} Pitt-Rivers, , Excavations in Cranborne Chase, 11, pp. 40–1Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 3} Hoare, Colt, Ancient Wilts, p. 124Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 4} P.S.A.S., XIII, pp. 336–8Google Scholar; XXXIX, pp.; 181–2.

^{page 102 note 5} Mortimer, op. cit., pp. 296–7.

^{page 102 note 6} Fox, , Ant. Jour., p. 133Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 7} Elgee, , Archaeology of Yorkshire, p. 209Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 8} Schuchhardt, C., Vorgeschichte von Deutschland, 1928, pp. 115–6Google Scholar, Fig. 90d; Armstrong, , Catalogue of Irish Gold Ornaments in the Collection of the Royal Irish Academy, 1920, Plate XIV, Fig. 234Google Scholar.

^{page 102 note 9} See footnote 12, p. 101.

^{page 103 note 1} Piggott, , Proc. Prehist. Soc., 1938, p. 60Google Scholar.

^{page 103 note 2} See footnote 2, p. 101.

^{page 103 note 3} Elgee, , Early Man, p. 82Google Scholar.

^{page 103 note 4} Kersten, K., Zur Alteren Nordischen Bronzezeit, pp. 6-7, 98–100Google Scholar and Appen. 32, no. 272; cf. Forssander, J., Die Ostskandinavische Norden während der ältesten Metallzeit, p. 262Google Scholar. We are indebted to Mr Hawkes for these references.

^{page 104 note 1} Danmarks Oldtid II, p. 30Google Scholar.

^{page 104 note 2} Zur Alteren Nordischen Bronzezeit passim, and additional information from Dr Kersten in litt., 1946.

^{page 104 note 3} In litt., 5 November, 1946.

^{page 104 note 4} Dr Grahame Clark discussed this aspect of dug-out canoes in his Munro Lectures delivered in the University of Edinburgh in March, 1949.

^{page 104 note 5} Cf. Arch. Journ. XCVI (1939), 212Google Scholar.

^{page 104 note 6} Grinsell, L. V. in Antiquity 1941, 367Google Scholar; 1942, 160–74.

^{page 104 note 7} In litt., 20 July, 1946.

Article contents

An Early Bronze Age Burial in a Boat-shaped Wooden Coffin from North-east Yorkshire

Extract

Access options

References

Save article to Kindle

Save article to Dropbox

Save article to Google Drive

Reply to: Submit a response

Your details

You have entered the maximum number of contributors

Conflicting interests