32 EEPOET OF THE SECRETxYRY. 



oven-sliaped, with tlie mouth closed by kirge stones, were six and a half 

 feet below the level of the Greek interments, and from nine to eleven 

 feet below the surface of the earth. The articles found in the graves 

 and tombs were of gold, silver, precious stones, bronze, copper, glass, 

 marble, and terra cotta. The whole collection numbered 2,310 })ieces; 

 the expense of the digging, $7,300 in gold, was defrayed by an asso- 

 ciation composed of the Eaglish, French, and ximerican consuls, and an 

 English banker. We need not say that the safe arrival of the portion 

 of these relics intended by Mr. Cesnola for the Smithsonian Institution 

 will be looked forward to with nnich interest. 



But the explorations of the Institution in regard to ethnology have 

 not been confined to the contents of monads or to implements gathered 

 from the surface of the ground, or brought to light by casual excavation. 

 It is well known that in almost every part of the world contiguous to 

 the sea there exist accainulatious of shells collected into heai)s or 

 mounds. These mounds were long supposed to have been produced by 

 natural causes, but comparatively recent investigations have shown that 

 they are the remains of the festal or daily repasts of the ancient inhabit- 

 ants. Thus their examination becomes an object of special interest; yet 

 nothing had been done in this department of research in our own coun- 

 try until lately, when examinations were commenced by Professor liau 

 in New Jersey, Professor Wyman on the coasts of Florida, Maine, and 

 Massachusetts, and by gentlemen connected with the Essex Institute, 

 (now the Peabody Academy of Science,) in the vicinity of Salem, 

 Massachusetts. During last -summer. Professor Baird, of this Institu- 

 tion, after taking part in the Salem exploration, instituted an investiga- 

 tion as to the shell-heaps of the coast of New Brunswick. In this 

 enterprise he received the voluntary assistance of Mr. G. A. Boardman, 

 Dr. Todd, of St. Stephens, Mr. Josiah Simpson, of St. David's, and Dr. 

 Parker, of St. Andrews. They examined several new depositories, which 

 yielded unexpectedly large numbers of implements of horn, bone, and 

 stone, together with the remains of the animals which had served as food. 

 Of this exploration a full account will hereafter be i)repared for i)ubii- 

 cation in the repoi-t of the Institution. 



Kor yet are laeustrian structures and shell heaps the only sources 

 from vv liich a knowledge of the manners and customs of prehistoric times 

 may be acquired. The early inhabitants of almost every part of the 

 world took advantage of natural caverns as places of shelter, and in 

 these have left the indications of their former j)reseuce. An examination 

 of the deposits of earth on the floors of these caverns, and sometimes 

 even beneath the incrustations produced by the evaporation of the water 

 charged with lime, which has dripped from the ceiling, have often dis- 

 closed the bones of men, and also artificial implements, mingled with 

 the remains of extinct animals. A cave of this kind, in central Penn- 

 sylvania, was examined a number of years ago by Professor Baird, not 

 with a view to the discovery of archaeological remains, but those of the 



