Found with the Amphora near Barton’

During the summer of 1817 Edward Daniel Clarke, Professor of Mineralogy at Cambridge and University Librarian, decided to excavate the Hay Hill burial mound near Barton on the western outskirts of Cambridge. An iron fire dog and an iron chain with six collars, possibly for transporting slaves, had been found nearby and Clarke wanted to look for further evidence. The grave revealed a single human skeleton—the skull was removed and taken to the University Library (its fate is unknown). The following year, some labourers employed to dig gravel near the mound discovered an amphora, inside which was found a black terracotta vase containing human bones, and two other smaller red terracotta vessels with handles. These were also taken to the University Library. The fire dog and chain are now in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, but the current location of the amphora and its contents is unknown. The fragments shown here—found with the amphora in 1818—were discovered in the cabinet of ‘Oriental’ manuscripts and curiosities presented to the Library by George Lewis in 1727 and include what appears to be a piece of a bronze bracelet.