Lost Edinburgh: The Arthur’s Seat coffins

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http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/lost-edinburgh-the-arthur-s-seat-coffins-1-3342913
Lost Edinburgh: The Arthur’s Seat coffins
The Scotsman
by DAVID McLEAN
Published on the 17 March 2014

TWO CENTURIES ago, seventeen concealed miniature coffins were discovered in a cave on Arthur’s Seat. To this day their exact origin and purpose remain shrouded in mystery.

One June afternoon in 1836 five young local lads accidentally stumbled upon the extraordinary. The boys had spent the day mucking around hunting for rabbit warrens on Arthur’s Seat when they made a startling discovery at the entrance to a small cave on the rugged north-eastern face of the famous hill: a horde of intricately-carved miniature figures set in coffins.

A spooky and mysterious discovery

The coffins, numbering seventeen, had lain undisturbed for an indeterminate amount of time beneath just a few thin slabs of slate. They were neatly laid out in three tiers: two lower rows of eight and a third supposedly just begun.

According to The Scotsman of July 16, 1836, several of the figures were either badly damaged or lost altogether as the decrepit-looking cache provided convenient fodder for the boys to pelt one another with. Fortunately, a few did manage to endure the onslaught. They were eventually purchased by a private collector where they remained until being passed over to the museum in 1901. Only eight figures, in varying states of decay, survive.... MORE