Arthur's Seat Coffins

This rather dark and fuzzy picture (taken through glass at the Museum of Scotland) is of one of my favourite and inexplicable mysteries.

These miniature coffins were found on Arthurs Seat in 1836 by some boys who were out rabbiting. Seventeen coffins were found in all, some of them were broken by the boys themselves who proceded to throw them at one another before carrying the rest down to the city to be preserved for our wonderment. Seven remain now. Each of the little figures has been carefully dressed (though the clothes have decayed on some) and the little coffins have been all been carved out of a single piece of wood with tiny pieces of metal inlaid into the lids.

So who made them and why were they there? Well the theory repeated most often is that they represent the seventeen victims of the famous murderers Burke and Hare who operated in 1826-1827. This is a neat theory and the timing is right but the problem for me is that the figures with clothing are wearing little trousers. All but three of B&Hs victims were women. It could just be that only the male figures have survived or that women were dressed in trousers in early 19th century burials but I can't help wondering if there is another explanation.

A lot of guff has been written about the coffins but for anyone who is interested, this excellent post by Mike Dash covers everything that is known.