TRACES OF AN 
ANCIENT LAKE-DWELLING AT SAND-LE-MERE, 
NEAR WITHERNSEA, EAST YORKSHIRE. 
* THOMAS SHEPPARD, 
Feil; Hon. Sec. Hull Sa ee and Field Naturalists’ Club, 
Tue excavations which were made at Ulrome, near Skipsea, i in 
- Holderness, by Mr. Thos. Boynton, of Bridlington, some years: 
ago, threw a great amount of light on the habits of the former 
inhabitants of Holderness. At a ve of four feet, near the 
edge of a hill, which to-day is called ‘Goose /sland,’ a well- 
Ae Planned and carefully-buiit structure was met with. This 
consisted of a platform of enormous dimensions, which had 
been held in position by piles driven into the bed of the old lake; 
the whole being weighted down and supported by stakes driven 
in at an angle. Under and around this platform were found 
numerous implements and utensils of Ancient-British workman- 
Ship, together with a large quantity of bones, usually broken, of 
Ox, horse, deer, pig, etc. This extensive collection was shewn 
to the writer by the courtesy of Mr. Boynton a short time ago. 
The excavations shewed that there had been two platforms. 
With the lower one, which was built upon roughly-pointed piles, 
very coarse pottery and implements of stone were found. on 
this had been erected another structure, of similar dimensions, 
but at a time when the use of metal had been introduced. This 
latter was consequently of a better finish, and it was found that 
the piles used for its construction had been sharpened by a 
Metal instrument, and some of them were even penetrating the 
timbers previously eviating, Between the two platforms was 
found a bronze spear-head, which seems to indicate that the upper 
one was built by the ‘ Bronze-Age’ Britons—the lower oi 
~ form being constructed by the earlier people of the ‘ Stone-Age.’ 
From the evidence obtained by Mr. Boynton (see papers by 
J. W. Davis, F.S.A, on ‘The Lake-Dwellings in East 
Vorkehice ProgVorks: Geol & Polyt. Soc., 1889, pp. 101-113 ; 
by Mr. T. M. Evans, ‘The Ancient eiiuas and the Lake- 
Dwelling at Ulrome in Holderness,’ in ‘The Hull Quarterly,’ 
15th Jan. and 15th April 1885; and Mr. T. Tindall Wildridge, 
‘Lake- -Dwellings of Yorkshire,’ in Andrews ‘ Bygone Yorkshire,’ 
1892), it seems clear that at one time Holderness was a country 
of meres and bogs, the glacial mounds appearing as islands, 
and would present an aspect somewhat similar to the Norfolk 
Broads of to-day. In the shallows of the meres the Ancient 
x Britons doubtless built their pile-dwellings; being thus safe 
1808. 
