17 O ON RAINS CAVE, LONGCLIFFE, DERBYSHIRE. 



in a living or fresh condition. Most of the tooth marks are those 

 of the rat, but there are a few of some larger animal. Can it be 

 that these heavy and new-looking bones belonged to the same 

 skeleton as the new-looking pieces of skull referred to on 

 page 38 of the first report, of which it was suggested that possibly 

 they were " the silent witnesses of some terrible tragedy ? " It is 

 also likely that a portion of a right tarsus with the third and 

 fourth metatarsals, found in 1888, belonged to the same skeleton, 

 as they are equally new looking. These bones are cemented 

 into a solid mass, apparently by gouty concretion. If I am right 

 in my conclusions, it would seem that the "tragedy" resolves 

 itself into some unfortunate individual, half lame with rheumatism, 

 slipping into the cave and breaking his thigh bones thereby, and 

 there dying. 



The only perfect tibia, the one referred to on page 163 of this 

 report, is i2'625 in. long, which, if reckoned as 22'i5 of the 

 stature (= 100), gives 4 ft. 9 in. for the latter. 



THE POTTERY. 



The general character and distribution of the potsherds were 

 given last year (pages 244-7). -^s then indicated, the hand-made 

 ware exhibited considerable divergencies in texture and colour. 

 The older examples — that is, those found below the superficial 

 portion of the floor — were invariably friable ; so much so, as to 

 frequently render their removal from the soil impossible. This, 

 together with their internal, and sometimes external, blackness, 

 caused us very often to mistake small fragments for charcoal. 

 Superficially, these potsherds varied from a dull buff to a 

 brownish black. In some, the paste was intermixed with broken 

 limestone or calc spar ; in others, with broken shell — presumably 

 snails' shells. It is tolerably clear that those which have been 

 preserved relate to quite seven or eight different vessels ; but 

 what the shapes of these vessels were, it is impossible to say, 

 except in three cases, and these only imperfectly. 



The two sets of potsherds already referred to in this report as 

 of the earlier sepulchral period, were with little doubt "food" 



