igiS. Prarger- ~D ere- F erna : The Cave of Dunmore. 153 



Scientific Institution (14), his communication consisting 

 mainly of notes made by Mr. William Robertson, architect, 

 some years previously. The discussion on the paper having 

 brought out the fact that these notes referred only to the 

 eastern (southern or Market Cross) branch of the cave, the 

 northern or Rabbit Burrow branch, in which the well 

 and human bones are found, was visited by Mr. J. G. 

 Robertson in company with Rev. James Graves, late Bishop 

 of Limerick, and Mr. John G. A. Prim, and the results of 

 their exploration appear in a supplementary paper read 

 on April 28th (15). Both papers fortunatety achieved 

 publication by the agency of the Natural History Review. 

 Though fully describing the cavern, they do not throw 

 much new light on the scientific aspect of the subject ; 

 according to the testimony of these observers, the human 

 bones occur only in that part of the northern chamber 

 which is close to the well. 



We next come to the most important paper which has 

 been published either on the cave or on its human remains. 

 Dr. Arthur W^ynne Foot visited the spot on September 

 loth, 1869, in company with Rev. James Graves and Mr. 

 Peter Burtchaell, explored the cave, and collected and 

 brought away a large quantity of bones, which, having 

 been named, were duly deposited in the museum of the 

 Kilkenny Archaeological Society. His observations appear 

 in the Society's Journal for the following 3^ear (4). After 

 giving an excellent review of the literature of the subject, 

 with quotations from some of the earlier writers of greater 

 length than the exigencies of space allow me to make here, 

 Dr. Foot fully describes both branches of the cave. No 

 living animal of any description was observed of the several 

 that have been recorded, from Rabbits down to Acarinae, 

 but he recommends a thorough zoological exploration. In 

 the following sentence he gives a useful hint : — "A very 

 small bo3^ who accompanied us was of the greatest use, as 

 he acted like an inverted chimney sweep ; squeezing his 

 body through crevices impassable to others, he and his 

 light could be seen through the chinks of the rocky floor, 

 working away underneath us." Large quantities of human 

 bones were collected from the soil about the pool, the 



