334 The Great Auk. [Sess. 



Laing remains of the Great Auk. The only bone of the Great 

 Auk as yet found in England was discovered in a cave at 

 Whitburn Lizards, County Durham. Both of these discoveries 

 are referred to in ' The Great Auk or Garefowl : Its History, 

 Archaeology, and Remains,' pp. 43 and 62. 



On 16th June 1898, when in London, I heard from Mr 

 E. Bidwell, who had just returned from Copenhagen (where 

 he had been having the egg of Alca impennis in the Boyal 

 University Zoological Museum photographed), that Herr Her- 

 luf Winge, Vice-Inspector of the Museum, had in his posses- 

 sion some recently discovered remains of Alca impennis Linn, 

 from ancient Danish kitchen-middens, and that he might also 

 be able to give me some other information regarding the Great 

 Auk. I wrote Herr Herluf Winge, who kindly sent me the 

 information I requested in a letter dated 2nd July 1898. 



Meilgaard. — From the celebrated kitchen -midden of the 

 ancient inhabitants at this place, additional remains of Alca 

 impennis have been discovered, besides those mentioned by me 

 at pp. 31, 33, 40, 84, and App., p. 58, ' Great Auk or Garefowl.' 

 It appears that a valuable paper was published at Copen- 

 hagen in 1889, entitled, " Dyrelevninger fra iEldre og Yngre 

 Stenalders Bopladser bestemte af C. G. Job. Petersen, Herluf 

 Winge, og Oluf Winge," which may be rendered in English, 

 " Animal remains from dwellings of the earlier and later 

 Stone Age determined by C. G. Joh. Petersen, Herluf Winge, 

 and Oluf Winge." At p. 5 they refer to the remains dis- 

 covered at Meilgaard that belong to Alca impennis. They 

 say — "Belonging to old birds: A brain-case, part of a coracoid 

 bone, two imperfect humeri (right and left, but not a pair), a 

 femur wanting the upper part. Belonging to the young bird: 

 A small piece of a scapula, a nearly whole humerus, — bones 

 of full size, but with the surface not quite developed." 



In his letter to me before mentioned, Herr Herluf Winge 

 says : " From the well-known kitchen -midden of Meilgaard 

 various bones have been brought to light by the excavations 

 conducted of late years by our Museum of Northern Antiqui- 

 ties ; they have been determined by my late brother Oluf. 

 . . . They were of at least three individuals, two old and 

 one young one ; among other specimens there is a brain-case 

 in excellent condition." Then Herr Herluf Winge continues, 



