Taber Hill also spelled
Tabor Hill is an Iroquois burial mound in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near Lawrence Avenue and Bellamy Road 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.