Taber Hill
Encyclopedia
Taber Hill also spelled Tabor Hill is an Iroquois
burial mound in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near Lawrence and Bellamy in Scarborough. The cemetery was discovered on August 17, 1956 when a steam shovel
was in the process of demolishing The 60 foot high hill. The soil was being transported for use in construction an overpass for Highway 401 and the cleared site was then intended to be turned into a suburban subdivision.
After digging some one hundred feet into the hill the workers found a large collection of human bones. The ossuary
was eventually found to be about fifty feet long, seven feet wide, and one foot deep. An estimated 472 individuals are believed to have been buried there. The burial dates to about 1250 CE.
The provincial government expropriated the site, exchanging it for land elsewhere in the area. It was proclaimed a cemetery and has since been administered by the city. At the top of the mound is a memorial with a historical plaque on one side and a prayer written by an Iroquois leader on the other. While designated a cemetery, there have been concerns that the area is often used as a park. Tobogganing is an especially popular activity on the steep hill.
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
burial mound in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near Lawrence and Bellamy in Scarborough. The cemetery was discovered on August 17, 1956 when a steam shovel
Steam shovel
A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...
was in the process of demolishing The 60 foot high hill. The soil was being transported for use in construction an overpass for Highway 401 and the cleared site was then intended to be turned into a suburban subdivision.
After digging some one hundred feet into the hill the workers found a large collection of human bones. The ossuary
Ossuary
An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...
was eventually found to be about fifty feet long, seven feet wide, and one foot deep. An estimated 472 individuals are believed to have been buried there. The burial dates to about 1250 CE.
The provincial government expropriated the site, exchanging it for land elsewhere in the area. It was proclaimed a cemetery and has since been administered by the city. At the top of the mound is a memorial with a historical plaque on one side and a prayer written by an Iroquois leader on the other. While designated a cemetery, there have been concerns that the area is often used as a park. Tobogganing is an especially popular activity on the steep hill.