Monument record MYO4319 - possible Roman burial, Batchelor Hill Acomb

Summary

In 1932, a small amount of Roman pottery and fragments of human bone, together with the form of the hill, led Mr. T. P. Cooper to put forward the suggestion that this was a Roman burial mound. A series of trial trenches, to test this hypothesis, were dug on October 12th and November 5th, 1932, by boys from Bootham School, York, under Philip Corder. These proved that the mound was of natural formation, consisting of clean yellow sand and glacial gravel and clay, undisturbed sand being found from about a foot from the surface in most places. No explanation was forthcoming of the presence of the small fragments of Roman pottery on the surface, nor of the human bones.

Location

Grid reference SE 5682 5078 (point)
Map sheet SE55SE
Unitary Authority City of York, North Yorkshire

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

1934, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Bachelor Hill, Acomb, pp198-199 (Article in Journal). SYO2061.

The finding here of small shards of Roman pottery and fragments of human bone, together with the form of the hill, led Mr. T. P. Cooper to put forward the suggestion that this was a Roman burial mound.
A series of trial trenches, to test this hypothesis, were dug on October 12th and November 5th, 1932, by boys from Bootham School, York, under Philip Corder. These proved that the mound was of natural formation, consisting of clean yellow sand and glacial gravel and clay, undisturbed sand being found from about a foot from the surface in most places. The tumulus-like appearance of the mound was apparently due to ploughing round it, when the trees of the plantation had been first planted, buried rabbit-wire being found on all sides of the mound at the edge of the apparent tumulus.
No explanation was forthcoming of the presence of the small fragments of Roman pottery on the surface, nor of the human bones.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • --- Article in Journal: 1934. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Bachelor Hill, Acomb, pp198-199. 31.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Mar 25 2024 9:42AM

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