[Yn Lioar Manninagh Vol 2 p121]

CURIOUS DISCOVERY IN KIRK MICHAEL—HORSE AND HUMAN REMAINS, WITH HATCHET, POWDER FLASK, ETC.

Miss A. M. CRELLIN.

A curious discovery was made a few weeks ago at a small farm, Lhen y oi, near Orry’s Dale, when the proprietor was digging a hole in the ground close to his house, to sink a post for a gate. He told inc that between three and four feet below the surface he came upon a pavement of small stones, and, in lifting this up, was surprised to find underneath it a quantity of bones; taking: them up carefully, he examined them, and, being a veterinary surgeon (army, I believe), may be credited with knowing something about them.

They were of two sorts, human remains, and the remains of a horse, inter-mixed and huddled together, as though thrown hurriedly into a hole. Of human remains there was a skull, fairly perfect, containing two teeth ; also, portions of a shoulder blade and thigh bone, and pieces of arm bone, nothing. more being distinguishable. The remains of the horse consisted of several pieces of the backbone and a large part of the shoulder blade ; there was no appearance of the hoof or of horse shoes, for which he looked. The bones were much discoloured and in a very crumbling state ; they almost immediately fell to pieces on being exposed to the air. Having carefully examined them, and being perfectly satisfied as to their nature, he buried them all again. Along with these bones, and also under the pavement, he found a curious old hatchet, which is here shown, also a portion of an old spade, and an oddly-shaped piece of iron ; there was also a powder flask—all these he has given me. This was all he found. Of course, the discovery was perfectly accidental, there may or may not be more things there. I know the exact spot where these things were found. He is not a Manxman, and has only been there about two years ; but he did say that he would not. like the bones to be again disturbed.

I saw the man who dug these things up again today, and he says that the first he found was the powder flask, and, immediately by it, the bones that the hatchet lay some three feet further off, about the position where the hand of the skeleton would be, were it lying out flat.. There were also fragments of the handle, these were very dark and crumbled away into a sort of red powder. He says that the. skeleton was large, as were all the bones, and that the man must have been certainly six feet high. The bones of the horse, on the contrary, were small ; judging by the measurements he made. He considered them to be those of a good-sized, strongly built pony. He searched the ground round about for several yards, but failed to find anything more.