44 Stanley's Memoir on a Cave at Cefn in Denbigshire, 



effervescing with acids ; generally speaking, the mass is de- 

 posited in horizontal laminae, portions of which may be easily 

 detached, but broken in upon without order or regularity by 

 pieces of limestone, which, from their position and angular 

 form, have evidently fallen in from the roof, and buried them- 

 selves in the sediment, when in a plastic state ; or been caught 

 up and intermingled with it at the time of its introduction. I 

 saw no other portions of extraneous rocks or stones in this gene- 

 ral mass, with the exception of the small pebble above mention- 

 ed, cemented into the fungus-like excrescence, and another of a 

 larger size, weighing about 15 oz. also greywacke, rounded by 

 continued friction, and deposited near the top of the clay. There 

 were, however, a considerable number, of which I shall speak 

 hereafter, at a lower depth. Throughout this whole mass, scat- 

 tered in the most irregular manner, bones of all sorts and sizes 

 were confusedly intermixed. Many apparently recent, but 

 others, as I have observed, antediluvian, admitting further proof 

 of their being so, when submitted to the usual tests. The larger 

 specimens were in no one instance entire : some few remnants 

 were left, indeed, sufficiently large and perfect to identify their 

 anatomical position and name, but by far the greater portion 

 were broken into a profusion of smaller pieces by jaws, of neces- 

 sity more capacious and powerful than those of foxes or other 

 minor animals. 



I should observe^ that hitherto, though I had visited it twice, 

 I had met with nothing approaching to a flooring or covering 

 of stalagmite, similar to that in the Kirkdale cave, Forster"'s 

 Hohle near Weischenfield, (Dil. Rel. 127), and many other 

 caves of this description. Anxious, therefore, to satisfy myself 

 on this point, as well as to make further observations, I again 

 repaired to the cave on the 4th April ; and, with the kind per- 

 mission of Mr Lloyd, spent the greater part of the day there, 

 with four men, two of whom I employed in digging and remov- 

 ing the soil, and two in sifting it, when wheeled into day open 

 light; by which precaution I collected several teeth, which would 

 otherwise have been overlooked. One of my great objects was, 

 to ascertain the depth of the present flooring, which was evi- 

 dently not the real bottom-level of the cave, though, from its 

 being infinitely harder, the labourers employed before had 



