It is rare that archaeologists can tie artefacts to individuals, and even rarer to be able to link an artefact to a well-known character of some prominence in the city's past.

The recovery of the lower part of a bottle with the seal marked 'John Kilby' from the excavations in Hungate did just that. Bottle specialist Jerry Kemp was able to identify this bottle with a John Kilby who was Lord Mayor of York in 1804.

Mayor Kilby knew his drinks. For several decades he, and his father before him, ran a brewery in Tanner Row. While this bottle may have been one which was used in the business, it is perhaps more likely to be a wine bottle because of its shape.

Records show that in 1822 John Kilby had a house in Peaseholme Green, close to where the broken fragment was found, and this bottle may have originated in his personal cellar. If so, the bottle would have been one of a number made for him, with his personal seal, at the glasshouse. He would send these empty to the wine merchants to have them filled and corked with his favourite wines. At the time he was living in Peaseholme Green, John Kilby was an Alderman for the Corporation of York and a man of a certain status. Perhaps his was one of the houses in the area described in 1818 as being the 'residences of considerable and opulent merchants'. Further research into Mayor Kilby might reveal more, and we hope that archaeology will uncover more of the contents of his cellar.