Edinburgh,Human remains found under a school playground, could be 6th-century pirate.

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Human remains found by workmen under a school playground could be those of a 16th-century pirate, according to archaeologists.

A facial reconstruction of the man, believed to have been in his fifties, has been created from the skull with the help of a forensic artist.

http://www.lbc.co.uk/skeleton-found-under-school-could-be-pirate-122468
The skeleton, uncovered at Victoria Primary School in Newhaven, Edinburgh, has been carbon dated to the 16th or 17th centuries.

The school, which is the city's oldest primary, is near Newhaven harbour where a gibbet once stood 600 years ago.

It is thought the man could have been executed for piracy or other crimes before being buried in a shallow, unmarked grave.

The condition of the bones and location of the burial close to the water and gibbet, rather than in nearby graveyards, suggests he was killed before being displayed to act as a deterrent to other pirates, said archaeologists.
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Hanging pirates on Edinburgh’s waterfront was common in that era to warn sailors against becoming pirates and smugglers.

The practice continued until 1822, and the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth was a notorious haunt for piracy.

City council archaeologist John Lawson said: “We know that Victoria Primary was built in 1845 on the site of what would have been the shore in Newhaven in the 16th and 17th century.

“We definitely weren’t expecting to find any evidence of burials on what would have been sand dunes, as there were two graveyards nearby in Leith and Newhaven. It was a complete surprise.

“It was almost like a murder investigation. The question was, why was a 16th or 17th century burial carried out on what was effectively wasteground?

“The body has been just dumped in a hole on the shore - it was left in a small shallow pit only a couple of feet deep and buried over.

“I think it was either a murder or an execution.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/human-remains-discovered-buried-under-7111036
 

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