244 Dr Mantell's Illustrations of the Connexion 



The beds of all the rivers flowing through the large cities 

 of Europe must contain deposits of this nature, and abound 

 in the remains of man and his works. A Roman skull, 

 thickly invested with travertine, that was dredged up from 

 the Tiber some years since, and is now in the British Mu- 

 seum, is an earnest of the relics which lie buried beneath 

 the yellow waters of that celebrated river. Were the bed of 

 the Tiber effectually explored, there can be no doubt that 

 layers of crystalline limestone and conglomerate abounding 

 in objects of deep interest to the archaeologist as works of 

 art, and to the geologist from the physical conditions under 

 which they have been preserved, would be brought to light. 



Pottery. — The remains of earthen vessels are even more 

 durable than coins ; and fragments of ancient pottery occur, 

 not only mixed with other relics in deposits, but in some 

 places on the shores of the Mediterranean, as the chief con- 

 stituents of calcareous limestone disposed in regular layers, 

 the artificial materials having been cemented together by an 

 infiltration of travertine.. Urns, vases, &c., buried in calca- 

 reous or argillaceous strata, are often incrusted with tufa, or 

 studded with crystals of carbonate or sulphate of lime, as 

 on a Roman lamp, which was dug up near Naples, by my 

 friend. Sir Woodbine Parish. 



Fossil Human Skeletons — About forty years ago, great 

 interest was excited by the unexpected discovery of several 

 human skeletons, male and female, in hard limestone, on the 

 north-east coast of the Isle of Guadaloupe ; and a specimen 

 found on board a French vessel, captured by one of our 

 cruizers, and presented to the British Museum, afforded 

 English naturalists an opportunity of investigating the 

 nature and age of this first known example of the bones 

 of Man in a fossil state. An excellent memoir by the 

 eminent mineralogist and geologist, Charles Konig, Esq., 

 of the British Museum, published in the " Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1814," fully elucidated the nature of these 

 relics. 



This specimen is placed in the British Museum, another, 

 but more interesting specimen of a similar kind, also from 

 Guadaloupe, is preserved in the National Museum at Paris. 



