Around 4,000 years ago, a warrior chieftain today known as ‘Gristhorpe Man’ was buried in a large oak-tree coffin in a burial mound near Scarborough. This kind of burial is rare, particularly in this area, and with the range of goods within the coffin it was immediately assumed that he was a high-status individual. The burial took place around the time that Stonehenge and the great pyramids were built.
He was discovered on local landowner William Beswick’s estate on 10 July 1834 when Beswick asked workmen to excavate a 12 metre (40 ft) diameter mound situated near Gristhorpe, south of Scarborough.
They came across what was described as ‘an immense log of wood’ which, when it fell open the next day, exposed a complete six foot (1.83m) skeleton. It was partially wrapped in an animal skin cloak, along with a collection of tools including a bronze dagger blade, a whale bone pommel (part of the dagger’s hilt), flints and a vessel containing food residue.
The recovered skeleton underwent a series of conservation and preservation techniques, including being boiled in a glue solution, prior to being wired together for the purposes of display. He has been described as ‘arguably the best preserved 4,000-year-old skeleton in Britain’.
Extensive scientific research on the skeleton revealed that he was in his early sixties when he died and had lived in the area most of his life. It appeared that he had enjoyed good health, was tall and muscular and had lived on a rich and carefully prepared diet. It was presumed that he was part of a local ruling family. His death was relatively sudden and was probably related to a brain tumour.
Gristhorpe Man can be seen in the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough.
