Difference between revisions of "Origin and Mysteries of Kylesburgh"

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===The Grave===
 
===The Grave===
 
The precise history of Kylesburgh prior to the arrival of ''Endurance'' cannot be known. There were no known natives on the island when they arrived, and historians surmise that the old Kylesburgh was an abandoned settlement. Many hypotheses had been put forward, and none were still accepted. For once, questions linger such as:
 
The precise history of Kylesburgh prior to the arrival of ''Endurance'' cannot be known. There were no known natives on the island when they arrived, and historians surmise that the old Kylesburgh was an abandoned settlement. Many hypotheses had been put forward, and none were still accepted. For once, questions linger such as:
*Why didn’t the early settlers leave a trace apart form their burned settlement?
+
*Why didn’t the early settlers leave a trace apart from their burned settlement?
 
*Why was the settlement abandoned?
 
*Why was the settlement abandoned?
 
*Who is Kyle and who buried him?
 
*Who is Kyle and who buried him?

Revision as of 11:24, 14 September 2007

This article talks about symbols commonly associated with Kylesburgh and the mysterious history of Kylesburgh.

Name

History

When the ship Endurance arrived at the island’s northern shore on April 4, 1877. the settlers found a small deserted settlement in present-day Old Kylesburgh. The settlement, composed of huts made from material found on the island, was abandoned at burned to the ground. Three hundred meters from the settlement, a search party led by James Thomas Sherbourne discovered a seaside grave. A cross with the name “Kyle” engraved was planted in the sand. Sherbourne and the Endurance settlers assumed that that was a grave.

The settlers decided that the north side of the island might be too dangerous, and soon moved into the interior, where they found a much larger plain and area to settle in (now Kylesburgh proper). According to the diary of Georgette Sherbourne, “… they thought it was fitting to name the settlement Kylesburgh for that person on the grave and for the destroyed settlement. So I asked them, what if that Kyle was an evil person? And I got the answer that, we don’t know that, and that they cannot think of any other name.”[1]

It was decided that the name of the new settlement would be Kylesburgh.

The Grave

The precise history of Kylesburgh prior to the arrival of Endurance cannot be known. There were no known natives on the island when they arrived, and historians surmise that the old Kylesburgh was an abandoned settlement. Many hypotheses had been put forward, and none were still accepted. For once, questions linger such as:

  • Why didn’t the early settlers leave a trace apart from their burned settlement?
  • Why was the settlement abandoned?
  • Who is Kyle and who buried him?

To answer many of these questions, in 1966, the Kylesburgh Council, at the recommendation of Education and Culture Secretary Leigh Zoellig, authorized a continuing multidisciplinary study of the history of Kylesburgh and established a study group for this reason[2]. However, on March 1967, a group of vandals destroyed the well-preserved seaside grave of Kyle. Consequently, the study team, headed by Professor Cade Burnley of the University of Kylesburgh, decided that an exhumation of the grave was necessary.

Upon exhumation, it was found out that the grave did not just contain one person, but six people, probably a family. Recent DNA evidence showed that the skeletons in the grave, save for one, were indeed from one family. Researchers identified the skeletons as those belonging to a male in his late thirties; a pregnant female in her early thirties; a female in her teens; a prepubertal female; and a male toddler. The unrelated skeleton was that of a male in his early twenties. [3]

The study group also noted that the family wore traditional late eighteenth-century to early nineteenth-century clothes; the unrelated male wore a sailor’s attire.[4] Carbon dating placed the skeletons at about 200 years old.[5]

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Faith Reichenbacher of the University of Kylesburgh analyzed the skeletons in 1990 and ruled that the family died of stab wounds, probably with a sword or a bayonet; Dr. Reichenbacher also noted a musket shot on the skull of the unrelated male.[6]

Diggings

During construction structures in Kylesburgh, many artifacts such as bayonets, muskets, vases, cockery turn up, especially along North Kylesburgh and the stretch of coastline between present-day Promontory Hill and Little Bay Beach. Many have been dated to coming from different eras, cloudying more the mystery of Kylesburgh’s past.

Two of the most spectacular findings include the finding of a small deposit of golden Spanish coins dated to the late 1500s during the construction of the present-day Goshen Tower (3744 Holstein and Burlbaugh Avenues) in 1988. [7] A small tavern used to stand in the area, but the necessity of digging deeper for the foundations of a taller structure helped in finding the deposit. The discovery led many Kylesburghers to dig in their backyards for artifacts and possible wealth. One gruesome discovery was that of another grave, this time of the skeleton of three men in their twenties, in the woods behind Letcher Inn (1478 Carpathian Avenue). The deaths were ruled as traumatic head injury due to the presence of severe skull fractures.[8]

As a result of the possibility that such discoveries may had went unreported, the Kylesburgh Council passed the Archaeological Explorations Law of 1988, which prohibits digging a hole deeper than six feet in Kylesburgh soil. Doing so requires a permit form the Department of Public Works and needs to be overseen by an archaeologist.[9]

More research is being done on the mystery of the grave and Old Kylesburgh, and more theories and hypotheses are coming out. None, however, has been proven and accepted.

Coat of Arms

Sherbourne also discovered a golden pendant hanging over the cross over the grave of Kyle. The pendant was that of a double-headed eagle. It was known (until the discovery of other artifacts) as the only link to Kylesburgh’s past. It was Sherbourne himself who proposed putting or making the double-headed eagle of Kyle’s Cross (as it was called) as the coat-of-arms of Kylesburgh.

Footnotes

  1. Sherbourne G. The Diary of Georgette Sherbourne. 1955. Croton Publishing, Kylesburgh.
  2. KC 1966-0829. A Grant for a Multidisciplinary Study on the History of Kylesburgh
  3. Scarborough H, et al. "DNA Analysis of the Exhumed Remains of the Kyle Grave". J. Kylesburgh Sci. Soc. 2000 Sep;90(5):34-39.
  4. Loeffler A, Rittenhouse C. "Reconstruction, Analysis and Comparison of the Garments from Kyle Grave to Historical Fashion: Determining the Era". Ann. Rev. Arts Hum. Kylesburgh 1970 Jun;55(2):56-67.
  5. Kilcher D, et al. "Carbon-Dating of the Exhumed Remains of the Kyle Grave". J. Kylesburgh Sci. Soc. 1974 Jan;64(1):32-33.
  6. Reichenbacher F. "Forenisic Anthropologic Analysis of the Skeletons of Kyle Grave". J. Kylesburgh Sci. Soc. 1990 Nov;80(6):44-54
  7. Montrose A. "Construction Finds Treasure Trove". The Kylesburgh Chronicle. 1988 Jun 22; Sect. A:1 (col 1).
  8. Montrose A. "Digging Finds Skeletons". The Kylesburgh Chronicle. 1988 Aug 1; Sect. A:2 (col 1).
  9. KC 1988-1217. Archaeological Explorations Law