PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 173 



civil strife ; or they may have availed themselves of such a convenient repository 

 wherein to hury their dead. In support of each of these views, I will quote two or 

 three short passages from the works of Buckland and Lyell : — 



"The universal practice of interring the dead, and frequent custom of placing 

 various instruments and utensils in the ground with them, offer a ready explana- 

 tion of the presence of bones of men in situations accessible for the purposes 

 of burial." 



" Frequent discoveries have been made of human bones, and rude works of art, 

 in natural caverns, sometimes enclosed in stalactite." 



u Many of these caverns have been inhabited by savage tribes, who, for con- 

 venience of occupation, have repeatedly disturbed portions of soil in which their 

 predecessors may have been buried." 



Dr. Buckland particularly mentions a cave of mountain limestone, at Burring- 

 don, in the Mendip Hills, supposed to have been once used as a place of sepulture 

 or refuge, in which human bones have been met with, encrusted with stalactite, 

 one of the skulls being filled with this substance in the interior. We may, there- 

 fore, attribute the abundance of human bones in the Cave of Dunmore, to its having 

 been used for a dwelling-place, or for concealment, or sepulture ; but, perhaps, 

 we may be nearer the truth, if we look upon them as the remains of the victims of 

 the great slaughter, to which I have already alluded in an extract from the Annals 

 of the Four Masters. 



It has been remarked to me by the Rev. James Graves, that no steps have been 

 taken to investigate, whether the bones of any extinct species of animals have been 

 found along with those of man in this Cave ; as it is a subject worth examining 

 into, it is to be hoped that some of our medical associates will give the aid of their 

 anatomical skill in settling the question. 



To return to legendary lore, we find that it was generally rumoured, that there 

 was a running stream in this Cave ; but for such an idea there seems to have been 

 no grounds ; but the story of the " well of wonders" may have been founded on 

 the fact, that the Cave contains a small well, in which there may be a spring, or it 

 may act as a reservoir of the water flowing from the higher ground. Mr. John 

 G. A. Prim informs me, that some years ago there was a large quantity of bones in 

 this well. 



Having thus endeavoured to give you some idea of the wonders of the greatest 

 natural curiosity in our country, I would strongly recommend all who have not 

 seen it, to visit it, and even to those who may not wish to undertake the labour of 

 exploring its interior, I can hold out the promise of a great treat in viewing the 

 picturesque mouth of the Cave ; of my grounds for saying so, you have the means 

 of judging now before you, in the very excellent painting by Henry O'Neill, which 

 has been kindly lent to me by the Rev. James Graves. 



I exhibit some very beautiful specimens of stalactites and stalagmites, from the 

 Mitchelstown Caves, you will observe that they are cleaner and brighter looking 

 than the specimens from Dunmore, which I suppose is owing to the water at 

 Mitchelstown flowing through strata less charged with earthy matter. 



Some observations were made by the Rev. James Graves and Mr. Prim, who 

 stated that it was evident the late Mr. Robertson had only explored the eastern 

 branch of the Cave, and had not entered or known of the western branch, in which 

 the well and human remains were to be seen. 



APIUL 28, J 854. 



Dr. James in the chair. 



Mr. Graves said he had much pleasure in announcing that the Right Hon. W. 

 F. Tighe had made another most valuable donation to the Museum. In addition 

 to the collection of casts from ancient Greek and Roman coins and medals, pre- 

 sented on a former occasion, that gentleman had sent them the cabinet now before 

 the meeting, containing 188 specimens of minerals, scientifically classified and 

 arranged. Amongst the various ores and minerals which this collection embraced 

 were a fine specimen of Diamond from Brazil, presenting a perfect octaedral 



