no SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.83 



May 8, 1922 Franklin White, Esq., 



3438 19 St. Swithin's Lane, E. C. 4. 



Collection of stone implements from Broken Hill cave and other localities in 

 South Africa. 



As the collective sifted result of the information obtained from all 

 quarters, with the results of the personal inspection of the mine and 

 of what remained of the bone cave, and with the impressions left by 

 the different men associated with the finds, the conclusion is that the 

 real conditions had probably been somewhat as follows : 



The " bone cave " was an extensive irregular crevice running for 

 120-150 feet inward and downward from near the outer base of the 

 hill and reaching the maximum depth below the surface of about 

 70 feet. 



There is no recollection of the mouth of the " cave " and this may 

 have been covered or obstructed. Inside, the crevice enlarged to a 

 cavern which at its maximum measured probably over 30 feet in 

 breadth and twice as much in height. 



For some distance from the mouth of the cavern the floor of the 

 latter was nearly level or but moderately inclined, then there was a 

 steeper descending slope, and after that the crevice ran irregularly 

 downward and inward. 



The outer part of the cavern was largely filled with more or less 

 mineralized and consolidated bones of animals, cave detritus, large 

 quantities of bones of bats or small rodents and nondescript earthy 

 material, the walls being covered with crystals of the ores of zinc 

 and vanadium. The larger bones were distributed unequally through 

 the filling of the cave, in some places there being large quantities of 

 them, in others few or none. They extended to and beyond the descent 

 in the floor. 



The lowest and innermost part of the cavern was filled by detritus, 

 some bones, and a considerable layer or rather layers of very pure 

 and more or less crumbly lead ore. The ore contained no bones or 

 foreign substance ; but it is not absolutely known whether the con- 

 tents of the distal part of the cavern had a direct connection with 

 the materials in the large outer portion through or underneath this 

 lead ore. 



The skull was found at some distance beneath a layer of this ore, 

 which was according to Mr. Zwigelaar's recollection, about 10 feet 

 thick. It was not itself embedded in the ore, but in a detrital material 

 not mineralized to any extent, and containing a quantity of " bat " 

 bones. 



