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 THE WEST PORT MURDERS
AND THE MINIATURE COFFINS FROM
ARTHUR’S SEAT
SAMUEL PYEATT MENEFEE AND ALLEN D C
SIMPSON

HIS PAPER OFFERS a new interpretation of

T the miniature wooden coffins found on Arthur’s

Seat in 1836, relating them to the West Port Murders
committed by Burke and Hare in 1828. Surviving
coffins from this group, and the figures contained in
them, are preserved in the collections of the National
Museums of Scotland, in Edinburgh.1

PROVENANCE
At the end of June 1836, several boys, while rab­
biting in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, on the north-east
range of Arthur’s Seat, discovered seventeen small
coffins placed in a recess in the rocks. Each was
about three to four inches long, and contained a small
carved wooden figure. Several of the coffins were
allegedly destroyed by the boys, but an unspecified
number survived intact and were preserved in a local
antiquarian collection. The discovery caused some
public interest and the first of several newspaper
accounts was published in The Scotsman on 16 July
1836, in which they were described as ‘Lilliputian
coffins’.2 On 20 August the Edinburgh Evening Post Fig. 1. Robert Frazer as Curator of the Museum of the Society of
noted that the coffins were displayed in the private Antiquaries of Scotland; photograph by Thomas B. Johnston,
museum of Robert Frazer (fig. 1), an Edinburgh jew­ exhibited at the Photographic Society of Scotland exhibition in
eller and seal engraver, at his shop at 17 South St 1856. (Reproduced by permission of the Trustees of the National

Andrews Street.3 His firm, Robert Frazer & Co., held Museums of Scotland [NMS].)

a royal warrant as Jewellers to Queen Victoria. The In 1901, eight of the coffins and their contents
business was wound up when Frazer retired in 1845. were donated to the Museum of the Society of
Having failed to find a buyer for his museum, Frazer Antiquaries of Scotland (now part of the National
had the collection auctioned over several days in late Museums of Scotland) by Mrs Christina Couper of
April and early May 1845.4 The coffins, listed in the Tynron Manse, near Thornhill, Dumfriesshire.
printed catalogue as ‘The celebrated Lilliputian Circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that these
coffins found on Arthur’s Seat, 1836, with descrip­ are the same coffins that were in Frazer’s museum, and
tion’, were entered as lot 300, and sold for the then not a different group from the same source. In the
substantial sum of £4. 8. 0.5 description of the gift in the published Proceedings of

63 Book of the Old Edinburgh Club

New Series Vol. 3 (1994) pp. 63-81
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

the Society, extended quotations were given from new Royal Institution building on the Mound (now
three of the 1836 newspaper accounts, and these were the Royal Scottish Academy) where they and the
stated to ‘contain all the information about this singu­ Royal Society of Edinburgh were tenants.11 The
lar discovery which is now available’ ,6 However, the honorary Curator of the museums of both societies
quotations are not complete and have not been taken was James Skene and his Assistant Curator for the
directly from the newspapers. Instead they follow the Antiquaries was Alexander Macdonald, who formally
abbreviated text on a surviving single sheet, carefully succeeded him as Curator in 1836. Frazer was
reprinted at an early date from the contemporary probably closely involved with the Society of
newspapers and now preserved with the coffins in the Antiquaries’ museum from the time of his election,
National Museums of Scotland. The first extract on and he succeeded Macdonald as Assistant Curator in
this sheet is from the original description in The 1836, becoming sole curator within a few years.
Scotsman, but the second (abbreviated) extract and the Frazer had completed a rearrangement of the
third both highlight the presence of the coffins in Society’s museum by 1841; he displayed the collec­
Frazer’s museum. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion tion in late 1844 following the Society’s removal to
that this sheet, which is backed with a nineteenth-cen­ premises in George Street and he rearranged the
tury book board and pierced for a suspension string, collection again on the lines of a Danish classifica­
forms the original display label from Frazer’s museum tion system before the end of 1847.
and constituted the ‘description’ recorded in the sale It seems clear that Frazer’s personal collection
catalogue.7 The sheet is presumed to have come as part benefited from his privileged position at the
of Mrs Couper’s gift in 1901. Society’s museum. In 1829 the Society secured the
The 1901 presentation to the Society of return to Edinburgh of the great artillery piece known
Antiquaries was not made in the name of the Rev. as ‘Mons Meg’ from the Tower of London.12 Frazer’s
David Couper (1839-1913), who remained minister of collection contained a ‘Piece of the original stock of
Tynron until 1906, but in that of his wife, who was the Mons Meg’.13 Three separate gifts of fragments from
daughter of the Edinburgh publisher Thomas Clark.8 It the wreck of the Royal George, sunk at Spithead in
is possible, therefore, that Clark bought the coffins, 1782, were considered unsuitable for the Society’s
with their descriptive label, at the 1845 sale of Frazer’s museum, and three such fragments were included in
museum, and passed them on to his daughter. Frazer’s museum.14 One group of specimens that was
Although the Society of Antiquaries did not deign accepted by the Society was a collection of coining
to make purchases at the auction of Frazer’s private implements from the old Scottish Mint, presented by
museum, they did nonetheless accept the gift of a the Clerks of the Justiciary Court in 1841. At least
number of items from Frazer in December 1845 some of these ended up with Frazer: lot 129 in the
and June 1846.9 There was also a remarkably close sale catalogue of Frazer’s collection was described as
association between Frazer, the Society and their ‘Dies for knarling the coin, and piece of the block
respective collections. In the 1845 sale catalogue and dies from which the coin was struck in the
Robert Frazer claimed Frazer & Co. had been ‘Well- Edinburgh mint’.15 The impression that Frazer
known Collectors for at least 30 Years’, and he had in diverted into his personal museum material weeded
fact been elected a Fellow of the Society of from the Society’s collection is reinforced by the
Antiquaries in 1828.10 By that date the Antiquaries large number of natural history specimens and
had recently moved into rooms in the first floor of the ‘curiosities’ which appear in the 1845 catalogue, and
64
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

which may have become available in the exchanges families of some Scottish sailors, who buried their
made between the collections of the Royal Society menfolk in effigy if they were lost at sea; (d) that
and the Society of Antiquaries beginning in 1828.16 they were the result of a single individual’s mental
There is no record of whether the miniature aberration; and finally, Havemick’s suggestion (e)
coffins from Arthur’s Seat were first offered to the that they were linked to the belief in the supernatural
Society of Antiquaries for its museum. Perhaps they properties of a mandrake in a coffin and represented
would have been rejected as mere curiosities, a hoard deposited by their maker (or a merchant) and
although it is clear that Frazer was proud to have intended for subsequent sale. This last proposal saw the
secured them for his personal collection. His interest Edinburgh coffins as a nineteenth-century nautical
in such sensational material can be seen in the inclu­ derivative of the mandrake tradition, in which the
sion of two specimens connected with William figures had become helpful spirits intended to bring
Burke, executed for the West Port Murders in 1829 good luck to the owner. Havemick’s interpretation
and subsequently dissected by Alexander Monro was adopted by the Museum in 1989 when the
Tertius, the Professor of Anatomy in the University. coffins were displayed in the special exhibition ‘The
These items were a piece of the rope which hanged Wealth of a Nation’, mounted to draw attention to the
Burke and a piece of tanned skin from Burke’s Scottish collections which will be exhibited in the
right arm.17 new Museum of Scotland.20
It is not known what interpretation Frazer himself It is the intention of this article to comment on the
placed on the miniature coffins from Arthur’s Seat, physical description of the artefacts in the light of
although a number of suggestions were made in the new tests undertaken for the authors by staff at the
Edinburgh newspapers of the day. Since then, the National Museums of Scotland, and to review the
coffins have been discussed twice in academic pub­ available evidence concerning the coffins’ original
lications in addition to several popular mentions. In discovery. This will be followed by an evaluation of
1902, the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries why none of the five theories about the purpose of
of Scotland described and illustrated the objects the burial seems to be fully satisfactory. Finally, an
and quoted the newspaper extracts from the reprinted alternative theory will be advanced, based on the new
sheet described above; the writer generally con­ physical information available, and on the social
cluded that the intention was to symbolise honorific context of the artefacts’ discovery in 1836. This was
burial.18 In 1976 Dr Walter Hâvemick, Director of originally propounded in an address given by Dr
the Museum fur Hamburgische Geschichte, pub­ Menefee at the School of Scottish Studies in March
lished a further description of the items, offering his 1992, and was advanced with additions by Dr
own theory as to their origin.19 Simpson in the most recent display of the coffins
In all, five separate explanations have been mounted in the Royal Museum of Scotland,
advanced to account for the construction and burial Edinburgh, in October 1993.21
of the coffins: (a) that the coffins were used in witch­
craft practices, representing individuals to be harmed DESCRIPTION
through sympathetic magic; (b) that they were in imi­ Eight coffins of the original seventeen are now
tation of the ancient German custom (from Saxony) preserved in the National Museums of Scotland and
of burying in effigy those who had died abroad; no other examples are known to survive elsewhere.
(c) that they related to a custom practiced by the Each coffin contains an ‘occupant’ and has been hol­

65
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

lowed from a solid piece of wood. Each also has a lid forming the external shape and may indicate that the
which has been held in place by pins of various sizes, coffins could have been carved by two different
driven down through the sides and ends of the coffin individuals.
base.22 In many instances the pin shafts are still in The most striking visual feature of the coffins is
place, although some are bent over: when the lids were the use of applied pieces of tinned iron as decora­
prised off the coffins most of the hand-wound pin tion.25 Lozenge-shaped pieces, with the two pointed
heads became detached, and indeed a number of pin ends turned down to form a staple, are attached to the
heads are still embedded in the lids. In the early sides of the coffin, at the corresponding position on
accounts these headless pins were described as the lid, and also at the ends of the coffin. It is possi­
‘sprigs’, but it seems more likely that all the pins orig­ ble that these might originally have been considered as
inally had hand-wound heads. The position of the pin partly functional, and that they may have been
holes indicates that the individual lids belong to the intended to locate tapes tied round the coffins to
coffins with which they are now associated. Although secure the lids; however, no evidence of such tapes is
the type of wood has not previously been commented now seen. Hugh Cheape, the Curator responsible for
on, it has now been identified as Scots pine.23 Coffin these collections, has tentatively identified these
dimensions vary: while the original description in The metal pieces as the ‘hatchlets’ or ‘latches’ used on
Scotsman on 16 July 1836 reported that they were 3 to late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century shoes,
4 inches in length, those now accessible for study are over which the buckles fitted to close the shoe.26 Six
3-7 to 4-1 inches long (95-104 mm), 0-7 to 1-2 inches of the coffins and their lids are embellished with
wide (18-30 mm), and 0-8 to 1-0 inches deep (20-26 small flat nails cut from the same material as the
mm) with their lids in place. latches and similarly tinned: it is believed that these
All the coffins have been cut from single blocks were also used in shoe-making or leather-working as
of wood, and judging by the longitudinal scoring on a method, for example, of attaching leather to wood­
the base of the recess, a sharp knife - probably a en components such as wooden soles. If this is the
hooked knife - has been used. The fact that the surfaces case, the combination of fittings used in the shoe
at the ends of the recess are so cleanly cut indicates that trade with the type of very sharp hook knife used for
the knife has been very sharp; but the user has appar­ leather cutting, might explain why the coffins were
ently not been a woodworker by trade because he has not made with the skill that would be expected of a
not had access to an edge tool such as a chisel to cut joiner.
the base of the recess, and has had difficulty in con­ In one instance, a different type of metal attach­
trolling the depth of the cuts (which have even pene­ ment has been applied: coffin No. 3 has makeshift
trated the base of coffin No. 5). latches on its ends which have been cut from a
There are two distinct types of external shape. pressed brass sheet. This was clearly some domestic
Five of the coffins (Nos 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8) have been fitting such as a mirror plate, and is consistent with
carved with comparatively square-cut comers and an early nineteenth-century date.
edges, although most have slightly bowed sides so Another feature which has not been mentioned in
that the coffin has a taper at each end (fig. 2).24 previous accounts and which distinguishes at least
However, the remaining three (Nos 3, 5 and 7) have two of the coffins from the others is the remains of
a pronounced rounding of the edges and ends of the surface paint.27 Pink or red pigment is visible on the
coffin: this suggests a different manual approach to exterior of coffins Nos 2 and 4, both of which are of
66
67
THE MINIATURE COFFINS FROM
ARTHUR’ S SEAT

Fig- 2. Five of the miniature coffins, with their lids and figures, showing the external decoration and the different states of preservation of
the clothing. These examples all have square-cut edges to the coffins. Left to right: above - Nos 1.2. 4: below - Nos 6 and X >
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

the square-cut variety, and in neither case does the between 3-2 and 3-4 inches (81-86 mm).
paint extend over the lower surface. Coffin No. 2 is It is apparent that the figures have been carved by
also the only one to have a paper lining - this is of a the same hand and that they form part of a set. The
wove paper, almost certainly of rag fibre, and datable evidence of their features strongly suggests that they
to post-1780.28 were originally made as model soldiers. The figures
Little has been said about the figures inside the have a rigidly erect bearing with straight backs, and
coffins - the initial account in The Scotsman, for the contours of the lower half of their bodies are care­
example, noted only that ‘the faces in particular [are] fully formed to indicate tight knee breeches and hose,
pretty well executed’.29 In fact the carving of these below which the feet are blackened to indicate ankle
figures, which are in a close-grained white wood boots (fig. 4). In contrast, the upper trunk and the
which may also be Scots pine, is excellent, and the long arms are more rudimentary, and are probably
quality of the detail is remarkably consistent over all designed to be covered by a military tunic. The arms
the figures. Some of the figures are covered by cloth of each figure comprise a single piece of light wood
(which is described below) but the carved detail can inserted in a hole drilled between the shoulders, bent
be felt through the cloth and it can be determined that down at each shoulder and brought to a point at the
the vertical proportions of the figures are almost ‘hand’.30 It is suggested that this would enable the
identical, even though some are slimmer than others arms to be swung backwards to fit in the sleeves of a
(fig. 3). The heights of the complete figures vary only tunic as well as providing support for a toy weapon.
The description of the figures
in the Society’s Proceedings at the
time of the accession in 1901 stated
that there was ‘a perceptible differ­
ence in the size and make of the
bodies as well as in the features,
which seems suggestive of the idea
that the different effigies are in­
tended to represent individuals’.31
However, these differences extend
only to the girth or weight of the
figures and, as has already been
noted, the heights and vertical pro­
portions of the figures are almost
identical. Although the shapes of
the heads of the figures differ, the
writer of the description in the
Proceedings did not appreciate that
the working of the facial features
shows remarkable similarities: all
Fig. 3. Two of the figures, Nos 3 (left) and 5 (right), shown for Fig. 4. Side view of figure No. 5 showing the modelling of the
comparison in size and features. (NMS.) head and legs. (NMS.)

68
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

the figures have the same characteristic wide-set

eye shape with the pupil clearly shown, and they
share the same short pointed nose, narrow straight
mouth, broad jaw and projecting pointed chin. It
seems unlikely that the figures were ever intended to
represent particular individuals.
The open eyes of the figures suggests that they
were not carved to represent corpses. Another indica­
tion leading to this conclusion is that the models were
apparently intended to wear hats - hair has been
indicated by blackening the back of the head, but not
above a scribed ‘hat-line’ which runs round the head.
It is suggested that in their original guise as toy sol­
diers, the figures were fitted with miniature headgear
-possibly bicorn hats. Equally, corpses would not be
expected to stand, and yet these figures have feet
which are cut accurately flat, and they will stand if
weighted slightly forward - perhaps originally they
were supplied with miniature muskets or drums.
Tentatively, these uniformed figures can be identified
with the volunteer militias raised in the 1790s and
familiar from the illustrations in John Kay’s Portraits
(fig. 5).32 One can imagine that model soldiers would
Fig. 5. Lt. Col. Patrick Crichton of the 1st Regiment of the Royal
have been popular toys at this period and were prob­
Edinburgh Volunteers, drilling the ‘awkward squad’ on Bruntsfield
ably sold by travelling chapmen. Links: etching by John Kay in 1794. (NMS.)
Nine of the original seventeen coffins were
destroyed, and of the eight that survive several have intended to cover the figures decently and not to
been badly affected by damp. The cloth wrappings of represent garments.
these figures has largely decayed, but in the best pre­ Fragments of different inexpensive fabrics have
served examples it is clear that the ‘occupants’ of the been used to make these clothes, but they are all of a
coffins have been fitted with fabric grave clothes. basic plain weave in cotton.34 In the case of the best-
Single-piece suits, made from fragments of cloth, preserved suit, on figure No. 2, the cloth is entirely
have been moulded round the figures and sewn in plain, whereas the cloth on figure No. 4 has a woven
place. With some figures there is evidence of adhe­ check pattern; three of the figures (Nos 3, 7 and 8)
sive under the cloth. The style of the dress does not seem to have commercially-inked patterns applied to
relate to period grave clothes, and if it is is intended the cloth. The good condition of some of the fabric
to be representational at all then it is more in keeping suggested to Naomi Tarrant, Curator of European
with everyday wear.33 However, the fact that the arms Textiles at the National Museums of Scotland, that
of figure No. 8 were already missing when the figure they were buried in the 1830s.35 Some of the figures
was clothed suggests that the fabric was merely are also lying on fabric padding, and included in the

69
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

padding in coffin No. 8 was a small piece of satin­ who has taken a particular interest in sewing thread,
weave textile, possibly silk, which has been identi­ has observed that 3-ply cotton thread (as on figure
fied as the remnant of a hat lining.36 No. 2) was used from about 1830, and he believes that
The cloth suits have been sewn together as well as the mixture of thread types found on the Arthur’s Seat
being glued to the figures, and a variety of thread figures indicates a date in the 1830s.40
types have been found on the better preserved figures In summary, therefore, the evidence of the coffins
(fig. 6). For Nos 2 and 8, cotton thread has been used, themselves is that they were probably made by one or
in the first case 3-ply and in the second 2-ply; where­ at the most two individuals. The variety of cloth and
as for No. 4 a single-ply linen thread has been used, thread types equally indicates that the clothes were
and for No. 6 a 2-ply linen thread.37 Almost certainly made by one or more persons or over a period of
such thread would have been manufactured in the time. The coffins with the most refinement of detail,
thread mills of Paisley, where tradition has it that cot­ including paper lining and exterior paint, are also
ton thread was not made before 1812.38 However, those in which the fabric is in best condition, sug­
practical experience of handling contemporary gar­ gesting they were the last to be prepared. However,
ments has shown that cotton thread was tending to the evidence of the figures is that a common source
replace linen thread from about 1800, and it was was used and the finished coffins were made up over
already being manufactured in the late eighteenth cen­ a relatively short period, probably in the 1830s.
tury.39 Philip Sykas of Manchester City Art Galleries, It has already been mentioned that Frazer’s original
descriptive label for the coffins seems to have been
acquired along with the coffins in 1901. Another item
obtained at the same time was one of the three slate
stones which had been used to close the aperture in
the rock in which the coffins had been hidden. The
slates had been described in the original Scotsman
account of 16 July 1836 as being ‘rudely cut at the
upper ends into a conical form’ 41 While the stone is
not mentioned in Society of Antiquaries’ donation
ledger and can no longer be located, the so-called
‘Continuation Catalogue’ records the gift as in­
cluding ‘a small slab of dark-gray slate 3%" x l5/a"
rudely shaped like the headstone of a grave’.42
This colour suggests a Scottish slate from the
West Highland slate belts, or possibly from the
Ballachulish quarries.43 Substantial quantities of
slate were being shipped round the north of Scotland
to Leith for the roofs of the rapidly expanding New
Town: in 1795 the recorded annual output from the
Easdale quarries was 5 million slates, and by 1837
Fig. 6. The sewn clothing of figures Nos 2 (left) and 4 (right). the output from the Ballachulish quarries had reached
(NMS.) 3 million slates per year.44
70
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

DISCOVERY
information not given in any of the several 1836
The principal account of the original discovery
newspaper accounts.46 The source and status of
appeared in The Scotsman newspaper of 16 July
Chapman’s information is unknown, but his account
1836:45
appears exact enough to warrant careful considera­
About three weeks ago, while a number of boys were amusing tion. Chapman has added a number of details to the
themselves in searching for rabbit burrows on the north-east range
story: the discovery was made on Saturday 25 June
of Arthur’s Seat, they noticed, in a very rugged and secluded spot,
as a result of the investigations of a dog brought on
a small opening in one of the rocks, the peculiar appearance of
which attracted their attention. The mouth of this little cave was the rabbiting expedition, and the cave, which was
closed by three thin pieces of slatestone, rudely cut at the upper ‘about a foot in height and depth and about 18" wide’
ends into a conical form, and so placed as to protect the interior was opened up with trowels. While the boys were
from the effects of the weather. The boys having removed these
said to have tossed the coffins around, they did not
tiny slabs, discovered an aperture about twelve inches square, in
which were lodged seventeen Lilliputian coffins, forming two tiers open them and they replaced them in the recess
of eight each, and one on a third just begun! before going off. The artefacts were later retrieved
Each of the coffins contained a miniature figure of the human and opened by their schoolmaster.
form cut out in wood, the faces in particular being pretty well exe­
Chapman stated that the coffins on the top tier
cuted. They were dressed from head to foot in cotton clothes, and
decently ‘laid out’ with mimic representation of all the funereal were reported to have been ‘rotting with age’, but
trappings which usually form the last habiliments of the dead. The those lower down were ‘well preserved’. This reverses
coffins are about three or four inches in length, regularly shaped, the order given in the Scotsman account of 16 July
and cut out from a single piece of wood, with the exception of the
1836, which contrasted ‘the rotten and decayed state
lids, which are nailed down with wire sprigs or common brass
pins. The lid and sides of each are profusely studded with orna­ of the first tier of coffins and their wooden mum­
ments formed of small pieces of tin, and inserted in the wood with mies’ with the fact that ‘the coffin last placed [was]
great care and regularity. Another remarkable circumstance is, that as clean and fresh as if only a few days had elapsed
many years must have elapsed since the first interment took place
since ... entombment’. On the basis of this the
in this mysterious sepulchre; and it is also evident that the deposi­
tions must have been made singly, and at considerable intervals -
Scotsman’s writer assumed that ‘many years must
facts indicated by the rotten and decayed state of the first tier of have elapsed since the first interment took place ...
coffins and their wooden mummies — the wrapping clothes being and it is also evident that the deposits must have been
in some instances entirely mouldered away, while others show
made singly, and at considerable intervals’. The con­
various degrees of decomposition; and the coffin last placed, with
temporary account in the Edinburgh Evening Post of
its shrouded tenant, are as clean and fresh as if only a few days had
elapsed since their entombment. 20 August 1836 (which may, however, be based in
As before stated, there were in all seventeen of these mystic part on the original description in The Scotsman) said
coffins; but a number were destroyed by the boys pelting them at that ‘in the under row the shrouds were considerably
each other as unmeaning and contemptible trifles.
decayed and the wood rotten, while the last bore
There are other accounts in contemporary news­ evident marks of being a very recent deposit’.
papers over the next few months but they largely Chapman’s account, if it is based on a separate
repeat the story from The Scotsman. No independent source, implies the decay resulted from weathering
account of the unearthing of these artefacts has been action on a less protected upper tier; but this may
found nor is there any other pertinent information in simply represent a misinterpretation of the 1836 ver­
the files of the National Museums of Scotland. sions, which are consistent with damp penetration
However, on 16 October 1956 an article by Robert into the lower tier. In none of these versions does the
Chapman in the Edinburgh Evening Dispatch offered condition of the coffins necessarily imply use of the
71
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

burial site over a very extended period: if the recess ing the likenesses of those they wish to harm or
in the rock became wet enough the fabric in the lower destroy’. While the existence of Scottish corp creadh
tier of coffins could have decayed fairly quickly after (clay figures representing intended witchcraft victims)
a single deposition, or after a series of depositions - one even dressed in linen - is well attested to, these
over a comparatively short period such as a year.47 images were specifically produced to be destroyed:
It would be particularly useful to know they were either melted, pierced or placed in a stream
Chapman’s source for his information about the in order to eliminate the enemy represented.50 At
boys’ schoolteacher:48 least one spell, consisting of pins stuck in a piece of
Next day one of the boys told his schoolmaster, a Mr. Ferguson, wood, is reported from Strathfillan, Perthshire.51 But
what they had found. It happened that Ferguson was a member of there is no evidence in any of these cases of coffins
the local archaeological society and after school asked the boy to being used to contain the images, nor do X-rays
show him the coffins. Mr. Ferguson took them home in a bag and
reveal the presence of pins in any of the Arthur’s Seat
that evening he settled down in his kitchen and began to prise up
the lids with a knife. It appeared that they had been put in the cave figures.52 This is in accord with the Proceedings’
at different times over a long period. The first ones may have been statement53 that
emtombed many years earlier; the last within a few months, per­
haps only weeks ... Mr. Ferguson took them to the next meeting of it is evident that the intention was different from that of the well-
his society and his colleagues were equally amazed. known maleficent superstitious practice of making effigies of indi­
viduals which were subjected to various kinds of ill-usage ... in the
While it has not proved possible to identify the belief that the same effects would happen to the individual repre­
archaeological society involved, the teacher can sented by the effigy. On the contrary, in this case, the intention
seems to be to symbolise honorific burial.
provisionally be identified either as George
Ferguson, the classics master at Edinburgh Academy, (b) The effigies imitate a Saxony custom of thus
or as Findlay Ferguson, a teacher of English, writing ‘burying’ those who have died abroad. The
and mathematics at Easter Duddingston.49 Neither Edinburgh Evening Post of 20 August 1836, and
was a member of the Society of Antiquaries of other papers, suggest that the figures were ‘in imita­
Scotland or of the Bannatyne Club, the Edinburgh­ tion of an ancient custom which prevailed in Saxony,
based historical publishing society. of burying in effigy departed friends who had died in
a distant land’ ,54 This theory fails to take into account
INTERPRETATION how such a German belief passed to Scotland or what
As noted above, five theories have been coined to catastrophe could have destroyed seventeen individ­
account for these objects. Several were offered in uals. As Havemick notes, ‘the fact that the little
1836 at the time of the coffins’ discovery; others have coffins were so carefully placed in the rows of eight
arisen over the years. We will examine each of these each indicates that this was not a case of individual
theories in turn. symbolic burials, made one after another’.55 If the
(a) The items were used in witchcraft practices, belief did indeed travel, why then does the Edinburgh
representing individuals to be harmed through sym­ deposit appear to be unique in the British Isles?56
pathetic magic. As The Scotsman of 16 July 1836 (c) A third theory holds that the interments can be
noted: ‘Our own opinion would be ... that there are explained as a nautical custom. Thus, according to
still some of the weird sisters hovering about the Caledonian Mercury of 25 August 1836, they
Mushat’s Cairn or the Windy Gowl, who retain their were related to a ‘superstition which exists among
ancient power to work the spells of death by entomb­ some sailors in [Scotland], that they enjoin their
72
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS
FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

wives on parting to give them a “Christian burial in shaped boxes, some of wood, some of thin iron plate’
effigy” if they happen’ to be lost at sea.5? Leaving found in the debris of a house belonging to the
aside why this custom, if it indeed existed, has resulted Schooner Society in Lubeck.® These German exam­
in only one such find, there are still problems with ples date from the early eighteenth century (the dates
the multiple interments and their presence outside a 1710 and 1711 were chiseled on them) and each con­
burial ground.
tained ‘a lifelike figure made of cloth and with an ani­
(d) Others hold that the coffins were the result of mal skull’. Havemick suggested that the Edinburgh
a single individual’s mental aberration. This expla­ effigies were ‘apparently a hoard, deposited by the
nation was initially suggested in the Proceedings of maker or by the merchant and intended for sale to
the Society ofAntiquaries in 1902.58 It appeared to be superstitious contemporaries ... presumably to be
reinforced in an article in the Edinburgh Evening sought in seafaring circles’.« This association appears
News at the time of the centenary of the discovery, in a bit optimistic, involving as it does geographically
1936; according to ‘M. H.’, its anonymous author,59 disparate occurrences of differently constructed
there was at that time a letter in the National Museum objects being buried at dates almost a century apart.
which described how More to the point, why would any nautical merchant
a woman who was living in Edinburgh in 1836 stated that a man desire to stash his wares on Arthur’s Seat?
who was not only deaf and dumb, but also ‘daft’ was in the habit
of going to her father’s office now and again. Some time after the
REAPPRAISAL
discovery of the coffins on Arthurf’s] Seat the man turned up at the
office in a terrible state of excitement, clutching a sheet of paper Since none of these potential explanations for the
on which was a sketch of three coffins bearing the dates 1837, Arthur’s Seat coffins seems particularly satisfactory,
1839, and 1840. After this occasion the man never came back and a reappraisal of the available evidence appears desir­
was never heard of again. Curiously enough, it is stated that the
able. The recent tests undertaken at the National
woman’s father died in 1837, and two other relatives died in 1839
and 1840. The theory advanced in this letter is to the effect that the
Museums of Scotland play a large role in discounting
tiny coffins and their ‘corpses’ were the handiwork of this man, some of the earlier theories, and in suggesting an
who obviously was obsessed with the idea of coffins, and that alternative theory.
possibly the loss of his carefully concealed little graveyard com­
Havernick was told that the textile samples
pletely upset his usual balance.
appeared to date from the beginning of the nineteenth
While the mental aberration theory is, because of its century, and this opinion still holds true.62 This dat­
very nature, hard to disprove, there is of course no ing is compatible with the presence of post-1780
proof of any connection between the wooden wove paper in coffin No. 2, cotton thread on figures
objects and the sheet of paper with its sketches. 2 and 8, and the stamped brass fitting on coffin 3.
Furthermore, there is no explanation of the rationale However, the evidence of the threads now points
behind the act of interment — why seventeen coffins clearly to at least one of the coffins (No. 2) dating
should be buried together. from about 1830. Without a knowledge of the condi­
(e) Dr Havemick’s theory is that the effigies are tions inside the recess in which the coffins were dis­
related to the belief in the supernatural properties of covered it is impossible to say whether the decayed
a mandrake in a coffin and represent a hoard state of some of the coffins resulted only from their
deposited by the maker or merchant and intended for position or from their longer exposure to damp.
sale. This solution was based on a perceived likeness However, the understanding that the wooden figures
between the Edinburgh burials and ‘six little coffin­ formed part of a set of toys, which was perhaps
73
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

already a generation old before being pressed into out - the West Port Murders by William Burke and
service again, strongly suggests that they were pre­ William Hare in the years 1827 and 1828.63
pared over a comparatively short period and probably These killings were, of course, committed in
buried in a single act or on a very few occasions. In Edinburgh by two Irish labourers who solved the
the light of this, the significant feature of the burial is problem of supplying corpses for dissection to the
that there were seventeen coffins. medical students of Edinburgh by the simple expedi­
It is arguable that the problem with the various ent of manufacturing corpses to meet demand. Burke
theories is their concentration on motivation, rather and Hare were employed on the construction of the
than on the event or events which caused the inter­ Union Canal and lodged in Portsburgh, the part of
ments. The former will always be open to argument, Edinburgh west of the Grassmarket, just outside the
but if the burials were event-driven - by, say, the loss old city boundary at the West Port. The corpses of
of a ship with seventeen fatalities during the period in their victims were sold to the dissecting rooms of the
question - the speculation would at least be built on prominent anatomy lecturer Rober Knox at Surgeon
demonstrable fact. Stated another way, what we seek Square (fig. 7). Burke and Hare’s first sale, in
is an Edinburgh-related event or events, involving December 1827, was that of ‘old Donald’, a lodger
seventeen deaths, which occurred close to 1830 and who had died of natural causes; but the sixteen
certainly before 1836. One obvious answer springs corpses which followed (see Appendix) were all mur-

'JScittcatrb witlrnut pi'rnitoi>u’n.

Fig. 7. Robert Knox giving an anatomy demonstration to students: lithograph caricature by Daniel Macnee produced in 1829 at the time
of the Burke and Hare case. The Latin tag alludes to night, in the form of Knox, inducing sleep of a more permanent type. (Reproduced
by permission of the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland.)
74
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS
FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

dered by Burke, by Hare, or by the two working as a

case. Perhaps the site of the find, falling within the
team. Unfortunately, there is no sexual differentiation bounds of the Sanctuary of Holyrood, might have
of the surviving coffin figures which might serve as
provided certain religious associations freed from the
a check, nor is there any way to ‘match’ figures with strict supervision accorded a kirkyard.66 Similarly,
the individuals known to have been victims. It is
not only was this general locale the site of Muschet’s
clear, however, that the sale of seventeen bodies was Cairn, renowned as the site where that medical student
attempted between late 1827 and late 1828 (we have murdered his wife in 1720,67 but at least one alleged
this from Burke’s two surviving confessions, appar­ suicide, the murderer Mungo Campbell, had his body
ently corroborated by another from Hare).64 Their dumped (or buried) in the Cat Nick at Salisbury
trial in 1829, which resulted in Burke’s execution Crags in about 1770.68 A similar resting place might
after Hare turned King’s evidence, caused a sensa­ have been deemed appropriate for the coffins.
tion; and information about their victims would have A mock burial of Burke and Hare’s seventeen
been available through pamphlets concerning this casualties might also have been deemed appropriate,
notorious case, newspaper accounts of the trial, or amid the popular traditional responses to the West
indeed from trial testimony. Port Murders. In addition to several children’s
Considering beliefs such as the alleged mimic rhymes,69 the crimes and their discovery spawned the
burial given to Scottish sailors lost at sea, it would mock execution of Dr Knox, the anatomist respon­
not be unreasonable for some person or persons, in sible for dissecting the corpses,70 and the attempted
the absence of the seventeen dissected bodies, to mobbing of Helen M’Dougall (Hare’s common-law
wish to propitiate these dead, the majority of whom wife) and William Hare himself when he escaped
were murdered in atrocious circumstances, by a form justice by turning informer.71 Many associated
of burial to set their spirits at rest. While it is always ‘traditions’, such as the subsequent blinding of Hare
possible that other disasters could have resulted in an in a lime-pit,72 or his eventual appearance in
identical casualty list, the West Port Murders would London as a beggar,73 may be assigned with reason­
appear to be a logical motivating force. Several of able confidence to the realm of folk belief;74 and
Burke and Hare’s victims had been selected in part there were, of course, tales and traditions of other
because they did not have relatives who would miss ‘Burker’ killings.75
them - or could mourn them. And although Robert Set in this context of tradition and popular
Knox did have procedures for disposing of dissected response, a mimic burial does not seem particularly
corpses, it would have been known that these were out of place. It is not possible to state definitively the
hardly treated with Christian ceremony.65 purpose of the Arthur’s Seat coffins - only their
Further, the presence of the coffins on Arthur’s gravedigger knew that. The re-evaluation of these
Seat could be explained in several possible ways. A ethnological artefacts, combined with an examina­
churchyard would not have been the best place for tion of the period’s social context has, however, sug­
such a mock burial because of the very fear of gested a new potential connection - with the West
Resurrectionists heightened by the Burke and Hare Port Murders - which the years have not erased.

75
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

APPENDIX

Bodies sold by Burke and Hare (see note 64)

Name and Background and Date of Death

description occupation

Donald army pensioner; 29 Nov. 1827

old man lodger (sold Dec. 1827)

Joseph miller; lodger 1828

man

Abigail Simpson beggar from Gilmartin; 11/12 Feb. 1828

old woman sold salt and camstone;
lodger

Mary Pat[t]erson prostitute 9 Apr. 1828

young woman (c. 18)

(unknown) lodger May 1828

old woman

(unknown) Englishman from 1828

man (c. 40); Cheshire; used to sell
tall, black hair, spunks; lodger
brown whiskers

‘Mrs’ Mary Haldane prostitute; lodger; 1828

old woman; stout; mother of Margaret
one tooth only Haldane below

Effie (?) cinderwoman; lodger 1828

woman

(unknown) Irishwoman from Glasgow; June 1828

woman lodger; mother or grand­
mother of boy below

(unknown) Irish boy from Glasgow; June 1828

young boy (c. 12) simpleton; son or
grandson of above

(unknown) lodger 1828

woman

(unknown) - 1828
woman
76
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS
FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

Margaret or Peggy prostitute; lodger; 1828

Haldane daughter of ‘Mrs’ Mary
woman Haldane above

Mrs Hostler or charwoman / washerwoman Sep. - Oct. 1828

Ostler
woman

Ann M’Dougal Falkirk woman; distant 1828

young woman relative of Burke’s
wife’s first husband

‘Daft Jamie’ simpleton 5-16 Oct. 1828

Wilson
large boy (18)

Mary Docherty or Irish 31 Oct. - 1 Nov.

Mrs Campbell
1828
middle-aged woman

NOTES AND REFERENCES

This project took shape while both the authors were Visiting sale of the whole museum by private contract, and another on
Fellows at the School of Scottish Studies at the University of 16 April announced that the collection would be auctioned in
Edinburgh, and we would like to acknowledge the support of the stages from 29 April 1845: ibid.
Director of the School, Professor A. Fenton. One of us (S. P. M.) 5 Catalogue of the Valuable Museum of Robert Frazer & Co.,
was a Cosmos Fellow, supported by the Traditional Cosmology No. 17 South St Andrew Street, Well-known Collectors for at
Society, and the other (A. S.) is a curator at the National Museums least 30 Years ... to be sold by Auction, on their Premises, on
of Scotland. We are grateful to the many colleagues at the National Tuesday 29th April 1845, and following Lawful Days ...by Mr
Museums of Scotland, the School of Scottish Studies and else­ David Walker (Edinburgh 1845), p. 13. Certain entries (includ­
where who have assisted with aspects of this investigation. The ing this lot) are annotated in pencil with the selling price in the
photographs of the coffins are by Joyce Smith, National Museums copy of this catalogue in the Edinburgh Room, Edinburgh
of Scotland. City Libraries (YN 8650F). The scope of the collection
described in the Catalogue was wide, and included natural
1 National Museums of Scotland (NMS), History and Applied history specimens and curiosities, antiquities, models, ethno­
Art Department, Inv. NT.86.1-8. graphical material and coins. A separately published Appendix
2 The Scotsman, 16 July 1836 (reprinted almost verbatim in The to the Catalogue of the Museum of Messrs R. Frazer & Co.
Times, 20 July 1836, and in Caledonian Mercury, 21 July (Edinburgh 1845) covered the mineral collection, books on
1836); see also The Scotsman, 31 August 1836. heraldry and seal impressions. Frazer’s collection is not
3 Edinburgh Evening Post, 20 August 1836 (p. 685). This arti­ recorded in the standard listing of natural history sales, J. M.
cle appears to be the source for a further entry in the Chalmers-Hunt’s Natural History Auctions 1700-1972
Caledonian Mercury, 25 August 1836. (London 1976).
4 Frazer announced his intention to retire and his hope to sell 6 The donation to the Society’s museum was recorded at the
the business as a going concern in The Scotsman on 4 meeting of 10 March 1902. Proceedings of the Society of
December 1844. Having failed to find a successor he Antiquaries of Scotland (PSAS), 36 (1901-02), pp. 460-463.
announced that the auction of his stock would begin on 10 7 The second extract was abbreviated from the account in the
March, followed at a later date by the ‘Private Museum of Edinburgh Evening Post of 20 August 1836 and the third was
Natural History and Antiquities’: ibid., 5 March 1845. A fur­ from the Caledonian Mercury, 25 August 1836. In the origi­
ther advertisement on 22 March indicated a preference for nal article in the Edinburgh Evening Post his name was spelt
77
 BOOK OF THE OLD ED INBURGH CLUB

‘Fraser’, but he has taken the opportunity in reprinting an described Frazer as ‘the noted antiquarian and collector of
extract from this article to correct it to ‘Frazer'. curiosities’: A. Leighton, The Court of Cacus; or, The Story of
8 Hew Scott, Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, New Edition Burke and Hare (London 1861), p. 280 note. Leighton report­
(Edinburgh 1915-28), II, p. 328. ed that a piece of the skin of William Burke’s right arm was
9 The donations are recorded in Archaeologia Scotica, 5 (1890). given to a friend of the dissecting room assistant, who had it
Appendix, pp. 52-53, 54. These specimens included at least tanned white and the portraits of Burke and his wife and of
one item - an Egyptian mummy’s hand - which had failed to Hare printed thereon. This was given to Frazer ‘and it was in
sell at the auction. The hand is lot 379 in Frazer. Catalogue, one of his cases for many years - may be still, if he is alive’ :
op. cit. (note 5), p. 16. ibid., pp. 279-280 note. However, it is assumed that this item
10 Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. (note 5), p. 1. For Frazer’s election was successfully sold at the 1845 auction and was not retained
see manuscript ledger, ‘Minutes of the Society of Antiquaries by Frazer. There are other Burke mementos of this type:
of Scotland’ 1827-1840, meeting of 31 March 1828: NMS another piece of Burke’s skin covers a pocket book in the
Library. Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Inv.
11 The source for this paragraph is R. B. K. Stevenson, ‘The HC.AB 10.4), and a phial of Burke’s brain tissue is in the
Museum, its Beginnings and its Development, Part I: to Wellcome Medical Museum in the Science Museum, London
1858', in A. S. Bell (ed.). The Scottish Antiquarian Tradition: (Inv. A667469). Burke’s skeleton is in the Department of
Essays to mark the Bicentenary of the Society of Antiquaries Anatomy of the University of Edinburgh: R. G. W. Anderson
of Scotland and its Museum, 1780-1980 (Edinburgh 1981), and A. D. C. Simpson, Edinburgh & Medicine (Edinburgh
pp. 31-85, see especially pp. 66-79. 1976), p. 48, item 299.
12 R. B. K. Stevenson, ‘The Return of Mons Meg from London, 18 PSAS, op. cit. (note 6), pp. 460-463.
1828-1829’, in D. Caldwell (ed.), Scottish Weapons and 19 Walter Havemick, ‘The Ghost in the Coffin’, in Caoimhin Ó.
Fortifications (Edinburgh 1981), pp. 419-436. Danachair (ed.), Folk and Farm: Essays in Honour of A. T.
13 Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. (note 5). p. 11. Instead of being Lucas (Dublin 1976), pp. 90-96.
part of the gun itself, the ‘stock’ may have been part of the 20 See Sunday Post, 18 June 1989, based on the exhibition label.
wooden carriage for the gun, which collapsed in 1835 21 The Scotsman, 5 October 1993. In September 1995 the coffins
and was reconstructed at the Society’s request: Stevenson. will be included in the exhibition OfMonsters and Miracles at
op. cit. (note 12), p. 419-420. Croydon Museum: Ian Simmons, ‘Wonders of the Vaults’,
14 Stevenson, op. cit. (note 11), p. 75; Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. Fortean Times, No. 81 (1995), pp. 29-33. On Charles Fort’s
(note 5), pp. 6, 9, 14: lots 89, 180, 324. A fragment of the interest in the coffins see note 54, below.
Royal George is included in the residual component of the pri­ 22 Pins of at least three types have been used, varying in length
vate collection of Christopher Dawson, bequeathed in 1905 to and diameter, and they are of brass or tinned brass. X-Ray
the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow and now held on behalf of fluorescence has been used to identify the plating material on
West Lothian District Council by Linlithgow Heritage Trust: a single pin, but results were inconclusive: Paul Wilthew,
ethnographic items in this collection can also be matched with ‘XRF Analysis and Radiography of Miniature Coffins and
entries in the catalogue of the Frazer sale. The collection is Figures found on Arthur’s Seat’, NMS Department of
described in Official Catalogue of the Dawson Collection and Conservation and Analytical Research (subsequently cited as
Burgh Museum in Council Chamber, Linlithgow (n.p., n.d. C&AR), Analytical Research Laboratory Report 93/11
[1906?]). See A. Creuze, ‘Remarks on the Structure of the (C&AR 5420), April 1993. In coffin No. 5 the pins are so long
Royal George and on the Condition of the Timber ... recov­ that they extend through the base of the coffin. In coffin
ered during ... 1839’, Proceedings of the Geological Society of No. 6 a single cut nail has been used in addition to pins.
London, 3 (1842), pp. 289-290. 23 Information from Ian Lawson, Craftsman Joiner, NMS
15 Stevenson, op. cit. (note 11), p. 75; Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. C&AR, who suggests however that coffin No. 4 may be of
(note 5), p. 7. pitch pine.
16 See Stevenson, op. cit. (note 11), pp. 69-70. Frazer’s collec­ 24 Noted in PSAS, op. cit. (note 6), p. 460.
tion contained at least one natural history specimen figured in 25 Analysed for the authors by Wilthew, op. cit. (note 22).
the literature - a misformed rabbit skull, described in 26 Personal communication, June 1993.
Edinburgh Journal of Natural History, 1 (1835-39), p. 66; 27 Analysed for the authors by Wilthew, op. cit. (note 22).
and see Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. (note 5). p. 5. 28 Personal communication from Helen Creasy, Paper
17 Frazer, Catalogue, op. cit. (note 5), p. 16, lots 370 and 371. Conservator to the Scottish Museums Council and NMS
One of these items was noted by Alexander Leighton, who C&AR, ‘Examination of the Paper in the Miniature Coffins',

78
 THE MINIATURE COFFINS
FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

December 1991.
tn Sir John Sinclair (ed.), The Statistical Account of Scotland,
29 The Scotsman, 16 July 1836.
Vol. 14 (Edinburgh 1795), p. 162; J. Carmichael, ‘An Account
30 Havemick, who only saw photographs of the figures and did
of the Principal Marble, Slate, Sandstone and Greenstone
not examine them in person, incorrectly identified the arms as
Quarries in Scotland', Prize Essays and Transactions of the
formed by a cord threaded through holes in each figure's
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 12 (1837)
shoulders: Havemick, op. cit. (note 19), p. 90.
p. 402.
31 PSAS, op. cit. (note 6), p. 460.
45 See also Edinburgh Evening Post, 20 August 1836, stating
32 See A View of the Establishment of the Royal Edinburgh
that the coffins were found ‘in the fissure of a rock, of about
Volunteers (Edinburgh 1795).
a foot square, at the back of Arthur’s Seat. These were covered
33 Personal communication from Naomi Tarrant, Curator of
by three pieces of flat stone.’
European Textiles, NMS, February 1992.
46 Chapman, op. cit. (note 41).
34 The cloth was examined and described in late 1991 by Naomi
47 Chapman’s statement that one of the dogs discovered the
Tarrant and Caroline Muir (Textile Conservator at NMS
cache and that this occurred on 25 June, closely following
C&AR): personal communication from Caroline Muir, Midsummer Eve, might suggest a visit to the spot by an indi­
February 1992.
vidual apprised of its whereabouts immediately prior to the
35 Personal communication from Naomi Tarrant, February 1992. discovery. It is equally possible that such a visit might not
36 The fragment has been described by Caroline Muir as deco­ have been to add to the interments or that something else
rated with a printed design of little stars and with the remains attracted the dog’s attention to the cache.
of the words ‘guaranteed waterproof’, and the identification 48 Chapman, op. cit. (note 41).
was supplied by Naomi Tarrant.
49 George Ferguson, previously assistant master at the Grammar
37 Caroline Muir, ‘Examination of Sewing Threads found on School at Selkirk, was one of four Classics Masters at
“Bodies” in Miniature Coffins from Arthur’s Seat’, NMS Edinburgh Academy when the school opened in 1824, and in
C&AR, Textile Conservation Report (C&AR 5420), July 1847 he left to take the chair of humanity at King’s College,
1993.
Aberdeen: M. Magnusson, The Clacken and the Slate
38 The tradition is based on accounts of the Paisley firm estab­ (London 1974), pp. 77. 142. He was listed in the Edinburgh
lished by James Clark (1747—1829) which was subsequently street directories at the school and at his home, 11 Saxe
part of J. & P. Coats Ltd., found for example in Matthew Blair, Coburg Place. The Post Office Directory was expanded in
The Paisley Thread Industry (Paisley 1907), pp. 36-37. scope and coverage in the early 1830s, apparently in response
39 Personal communication from Philip Sykas, Head of to competition from Gray's Directory, and Findlay Ferguson
Conservation, Manchester City Art Galleries, October 1993. appeared for the first time in the Post Office Directory for
40 Personal communication, September 1993. 1833 (in the county directory under Portobello) as ‘teacher,
41 Robert Chapman, writing in 1956, described them as ‘three e[ast] Duddingston’. He was listed in Gray’s Directory
triangular pieces of slate’: R. Chapman, ‘17 Little Coffins: It (always as Fergusson) in the classified section as a teacher of
is 120 years since five Edinburgh schoolboys found them on English, arithmetic, writing and mathematics in the first
Arthur’s Seat - but the mystery is still unsolved’, Evening expanded edition of 1833, p. 216. He was still appearing in the
Dispatch, 16 October 1956. Post Office Directory in 1845. A third (although unlikely)
42 Manuscript ledger of ‘Accessions’ to the Society’s museum, candidate is Thomas Ferguson, who was recorded in the Post
1892-1914, p. 170: NMS Library. The catalogue forms the Office Directories for 1835 and 1836 only, and entered in the
continuation of the 1892 published Catalogue. The manu­ classified directory under ‘miscellaneous teachers’, at 3
script ledger ‘Donations to the Museum’, 1897-1913, merely Fountainbridge.
records (entry for 16 May 1901) that ‘three small slate stones’ 50 See, generally, Christina Hole, 'Some Instances of Image-
had closed the opening, without noting whether any of these Magic in Great Britain’, in Venetia Newell (ed.), The Witch
formed part of the donation: NMS Library. We are grateful to Figure (London and Boston 1973), pp. 80-94; F. Marian
Andrew Martin, Assistant Librarian, NMS, for his help on this McNeill, The Silver Bough. I. Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-
matter. Belief (Glasgow 1977), pp. 144-145; John Gregorson
43 J. E. Richey and J. G. C. Anderson, Scottish Slates Campbell. Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and
(Geological Survey of Great Britain, Scotland: Wartime Islands of Scotland: Tales and Traditions collected entirely
Pamphlet No. 40, London 1944). We are grateful to James from Oral Sources (East Ardsley, Wakefield 1974), pp. 46-48.
Simpson for this reference. The North Berwick witches wrapped a wax image in a linen
44 John Macfarlane, ‘Parishes of Killbrandon and Killchattan’, cloth in 1590: McNeill, supra, p. 144. See also Montague

79
 BOOK OF THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB

Summers, The Geography of Witchcraft (London 1927), pp. file for NT86: Havemick to Mrs Anne Brocklehurst (Research
10, 81-84, 104. Assistant at NMAS), 15 January 1973 (‘Regarding the good
51 Campbell, op. cit. (note 50), pp. 47-48. Welsh figures pierced preservation of the coffins I should think [they are] not older
by pins are discussed in Ralph Merrifield, The Archaeology of than 18th or beginning of 19th century’); Brocklehurst to
Ritual and Magic (London 1987), pp. 154-155. Havemick, 19 January 1973 (‘we had not thought of them as
52 Wilthew, op. cit. (note 22). earlier than the beginning of the 19th century, judging by the
53 PSAS, op. cit. (note 6), pp. 462^-63. fragments of textiles still remaining, which agrees with the
54 See also Caledonian Mercury, 25 August 1836, and The latest date you mention’). Also. [Havemick], Folklore, op. cit.
Scotsman, 31 August 1836. Saxony is the area of North (note 56) (‘Mrs Brocklehurst and I agree that they date from
Germany between the Rhine and the Elbe, now known as the end of the eighteenth or the beginning of the nineteenth
Westphalia and Lower Saxony. For early Scottish maritime century’); Havemick, op. cit. (note 19), p. 90 (‘the National
contact with Saxony see David Ditchbum, ‘Trade with Museum of Antiquities places them in “the beginning of the
Northern Europe, 1297-1540’, in M. Lynch, M. Spearmen 19th century” on the basis of the cotton used on them’).
and G. Stell (eds), The Scottish Medieval Town (Edinburgh 63 See, generally, Robert Buchanan, publisher, Trial of William
1988), pp. 161-179. In 1919 Charles Fort, the asiduous Burke and Helen M’Dougal ... and Supplement (Edinburgh
American chronicler of unusual phenomena, found support in 1829); Thomas Ireland, Jr., publisher, West Port Murders ...
the concept of burial in effigy at Arthur’s Seat for his belief in (Edinburgh 1829); William Roughead, Burke and Hare
visits from tiny extra-terrestrials: The Complete Books of (Edinburgh 1921); Hugh Douglas, Burke & Hare (London
Charles Fort (reprinted, New York 1974), p. 169. 1973); Owen Dudley Edwards, Burke & Hare (Edinburgh
55 Havemick, op. cit. (note 19), p. 91. Havernick, however, goes 1980).
further, suggesting that symbolic burials of any sort can be 64 The Appendix lists the seventeen individuals involved, giving
ruled out because ‘it seems reasonable to assume that in the names (if known), a physical description, information on their
case of a symbolic burial where the actual body was not pre­ occupation, and approximate date of death. This last, and
sent, the name or badge of the deceased person would have indeed the order in which they were murdered, is open to
been included. Any such indication is, however, missing.’ In question in several cases. Burke made two confessions in
the absence of further information on this practice, it would which these details differ, and Hare apparently made a con­
appear just as reasonable not to require identification of the fession with yet another order. All, however, agreed as to the
individual so memorialised; presumably the gravedigger number and description of their victims: see Douglas, op. cit.
knew who was being buried. (note 63), pp. 136-139. Pictures exist of two of the individu­
56 ‘I know of no similar discoveries from Britain or Ireland and als, namely Mary Paterson, and ‘daft Jamie’ Wilson, repro­
a general enquiry for information in the journal Folklore was duced in Roughead, op. cit. (note 63), and Douglas, op. cit.
in vain’: ibid. See also [W. Havernick], Director of the (note 63).
Museum fur Hamburgische Geschichte, letter to the Editor. 65 Knox’s contemporary, Alexander Monro Tertius, professor of
Folklore, 84 (Summer 1973), p. 166. anatomy at Edinburgh University, had a ‘burying ground’
57 See also The Scotsman, 31 August 1836. attached to the University anatomical theatre in which the dis­
58 ‘... it may be attributed to an individual freak’: PSAS, op. cit. sected products of his teaching were disposed of or stored for
(note 6), p. 462. subsequent burial. His reliance on the highly discreet supply
59 ‘M. H.’, ‘Tiny Graves: Unsolved Mystery of Arthur’s Seat’, in and removal of his subjects was emphasised in 1824 when
Edinburgh Evening News, 11 April 1936. The original letter is building work resumed at the University, disrupting the pre­
not known to survive, but it was clearly the source for an vious unobtrusive access. The record of burials at Greyfriars
account published in The Scotsman on 16 May 1906. An early from 1835 to 1842 includes those of bodies from the class­
typescript transcription of part of this is in the NMS file, and rooms of Monro, Knox and other anatomists, but this reflects
it may only have been this that ‘M. H.’ saw. The museum of the more controlled situation after the passing of the Anatomy
the Society of Antiquaries received government support from Act of 1832. We are grateful to Professor David Simpson for
1851, and it became the National Museum of Antiquities of providing a copy of his 1965 lecture ‘Dr Monro’s Pit’ given to
Scotland (NMAS) until 1986 when it was integrated into the the Scottish Society for the History of Medicine. See also
new National Museums of Scotland. Andrew G. Fraser, The Building of Old College: Adam,
60 Havemick, op. cit. (note 19), p. 92. Playfair & the University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh 1989),
61 Ibid., p. 95. pp. 114-115, 235.
62 See correspondence of the former NMAS in the NMS object 66 See also F. Marian McNeill, The Silver Bough. IV. The Local

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 THE MINIATURE COFFINS
FROM ARTHUR’S SEAT

Festivals of Scotland (Glasgow 1968), pp. 82-84.

appearance, broadsides were on sale describing his hanging
67 See Richard Whittington-Egan, William Roughead’s
by a mob in Londonderry, and in more formal circumstances
Chronicles ofCrime (Moffat 1991), pp. 287-289.
in New York’).
68 The mob took the body ‘to the top of Salisbury Crags, from
73 See Fido, op. cit. (note 70), p. 130; Douglas, op. cit. (note 63),
which they precipitated it down the Cat Nick’: Robert
p. 128. This is similar to the chapbook ending of the adven­
Chambers, Traditions of Edinburgh (Edinburgh and London,
turous life of Ambrose Gwinnet who. being ‘enfeebled by
New Edition 1868), pp. 104-105. Mungo Campbell ‘was pri­
hardships and ‘unable to work’ and ‘being without any man­
vately taken from Prison and Buried at Salisbury Craigs’
ner of support’, ended his days ‘sweeping the crossing
according to a manuscript annotation to Tryal of Mungo
between the Mews-Gate and Spring Gardens, Charing Cross,
Campbell: For the Murder of Alexander, Earl of Eglintoune
London’: Ambrose Gwinnet, The Life and Unparalleled
(London 1770: Lord Prestongrange’s copy in the possession
Voyages and Adventures of Ambrose Gwinnet (Glasgow
of one of the authors).
1850), p. 24.
69 See Douglas, op. cit. (note 63), pp. 102, 156-157 (also noting
74 Another example is that a ‘cancerous affection’ on Burke’s
that the murderers were used as a threat to unruly children). A
face arose from the saliva of Daft Jamie, communicated by a
sung version, collected by Peter Cooke in 1970, is published
bite , a belief resolutely held to by the people’: Leighton, op.
in Tocher, 5 (1972), pp. 140-141.
cit. (note 17), p. 260 note.
70 See Ireland, op. cit. (note 63), p. 361; Edwards, op. cit. (note 75 See Katharine M. Briggs, A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales
63), pp. 268, 277; Martin Fido, Bodysnatchers: A History of
in the English Language, Incorporating the F. J. Norton
the Resurrectionists 1742-1842 (London 1988), p. 130;
Collection: Part B, Folk Legends, II (London 1971), pp.
Douglas, op. cit. (note 63), p. 138.
1 1—20, noting that the West Port Murders ‘made an immense
71 See Ireland, op. cit. (note 63), pp. 313-323, 357-358, 359;
impression on the popular imagination, and a whole series of
Douglas, op. cit. (note 63), pp. 96-97, 112-113, 127-128; tales about the Burkers’ has been collected from the travel­
Edwards, op. cit. (note 63), pp. 269-270, 275, 281; Fido. op. ling people of Scotland ... A black coach driven by a gang of
cit. (note 70), p. 129.
medical students in Turn hats’ features in many of them, and
72 See Fido, op. cit. (note 70), p. 130; Douglas, op. cit. (note 63), is a kind of successor of the death-coach’: ibid., p. 14. For
p. 128. See also Edwards, op. cit. (note 63), p. 270 (‘A rumour later American black traditions concerning ‘night doctors’ see
circulated that he had been recognised at Annan and stoned to Gladys-Marie Fry, Night Riders in Black Folk History
death, but it was later contradicted’); p. 276 (‘After Hare’s dis­ (Knoxville, Tenn. 1977), pp. 170-211.

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