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H flDibwinter fIDontb b^ tbe nDebiterranean* 



By G. H. Bryan, M.A. Cantab. 



Part III. — Mentone. 



IN the town hall, at Mentone, is the museum which M. Bonfils 

 has formed, of archaeological and natural history objects from 

 the neighbourhood, and in the museum, when open, is M. 

 Bonfils himself — an enthusiast, whose whole heart and soul are 

 absorbed in the study to which he has devoted many years of his 

 lifetime. The room is small, and M. Bonfils' only regret is want 

 of more space ; as it is, every available corner is crowded, and 

 the objects cannot be well arranged. The colours of many of the 

 Medusae, as well as of the specimens illustrating the Flora and 

 Algae of the neighbourhood, have been most beautifully preserved, 

 and among the archaeological curiosities, an old plan of Mentone 

 in the 13th century, and several other drawings, together with a 

 collection of coins, are among the most interesting. But f/ie prize 

 of the museum is the human skull which was excavated in 1884 

 in the course of an exploration of the " Bone Caves " of the Red 

 Rocks, conducted by M. Louis Julien, of Marseille, aided by 

 M. Bonfils. The body to which it belongs was found at a depth 

 of about 20 feet below the floor of the cave, and is considered to 

 be undoubtedly palaeolithic, while its position indicated the 

 probability of its having been interred there. The whole of the 

 debris forming the floor was filled with signs of human occupa- 

 tion, such as burnt charcoal and ashes, broken bones of animals, 

 flint implements, etc. 



This treasure was the second human skeleton discovered in 

 these caves. The previous one, M. Riviere's " I'homme de 

 Menton,' was unearthed in 1872, at a much smaller depth,* and 

 is now safely lodged in the Natural History Museum at Paris. 

 The " new cave man " was more unfortunate in its fate, for, as M. 

 Bonfils narrates with tears in his eyes, " it was stolen from under 

 his very eyes ! " The workmen engaged on the excavations seem 



* Sciejice Gossip, 1873, P- ^1^- 



