WHOLE VOL. SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN — HRDLICKA 245 



rough irregular cliff near the eastern horn of St. Brelade's Bay, 

 Jersey. At this i)art of the island granite rocks, considerahly 

 weathered and broken, rise steeply to about 200 feet above mean 

 tide level, the shore at their base being covered with accumulations of 

 large, rounded, waterworn bowlders (pi. 61). In one part of these 

 cliffs there is an irregular rough ravine or gorge, which penetrates 

 al)out 150 feet into a cliff. The side walls of this ravine are, in large 

 part, quite vertical ; and in the wall on the left, near the upper terminus 

 of the gorge, is a large cave which bears the above name. Before its 

 exploration the La Cotte cave was nearly filled by clay, debris and 

 blocks fallen from the much-weathereil roof; while rubble drift, in 

 the form of a steeply sloping talus, lay in front, obscuring a large 

 portion of the mouth. Removal of this drift revealed the outline of 

 the opening in the form of an irregular arch. 



The first indication that the cave was once utilized by man dates 

 from 1881, when two local naturalists, while "geologizing" on that 

 part of the coast, found a flint implement at the foot of the talus, 

 and, tracing its source, came upon a slightly exposed section of the 

 cave floor. There they found flint chippings and one or two bones, 

 apparently of a large bird ; but no importance was attached to the 

 discovery. About 1894, two members of the Societe Jersiaise, Mr. 

 R. Colson and Dr. Chappuis, excavated a portion of the exposed 

 floor section of the cave and found a considerable number of flint 

 implements, and besides that a quantity of bone breccia which con- 

 tained one tooth and one metatarsal of a variety of horse. Subse- 

 quently various partial examinations of the accumulations in the cave 

 resulted in the discovery of implements, and of a large number 

 of flint chippings. All these are preserved in the Museum of the 

 Societe Jersiaise, at St. Heliere. 



In September, 1905, the Jersey Society decided to explore the 

 cave systematically, and Dr. Chappuis, Mr. Nicolle the secretary, and 

 Mr. Colson, commenced work in the part of the exposed floor already 

 mentioned. More flint implements were discovered, but early in 

 October the task had to be abandoned owing to the rainy season and 

 to the fact that the workers were excavating under dangerous condi- 

 tions. It became clear that a considerable }x>rtion of the talus as well 

 as some of the threatening rocks overhead would have to be removed 

 before the work could proceed. 



Thus matters remained until July, 1910, when the society resolved 

 to make another attempt at the exploration of the cave. With the 

 help of experienced quarrymen excavation was commenced on August 



