86 EIGHTH REPORT — 1838. , 



The cave is situated on the summit of the range of the Mendip, in 

 limestone rock, and the entrance to it is from the flat surface, not from 

 any broken chasm in the declivity of the rocks. This is generally the 

 case with the other bone caves hitherto discovered in these hills, all of 

 which are in the like strata of rock. The fissure of rock by which the 

 cave was entered is about thirty feet in depth, a perpendicular descent ; 

 thence bearing to the west, is the opening which leads into the cave ; 

 from general appearances, and from what was afterwards discovered, 

 this does not appear to have been the original entrance to the cave, 

 and most likely was made for tlie purpose of admitting light and air. 

 On entering the cave from this opening, tlie visitor finds himself in a 

 lofty but not very large chamber, about sixty or seventy feet in height ; 

 from this cave there is an arched way into another smaller chamber, 

 and from thence an ascending path leads towards the plain surface of 

 the rock ; this passage was undoubtedly the original entrance. 



The bones were found in a detritus of soft mud or diluvium, as is the 

 case in all the other ossiferous caves of this district, and so circum- 

 stanced as to be defended from the pressure of soil above, and excluded 

 from the air. The human bones were found beneath the animal bones, 

 so far as the cave has hitherto been searched ; a few remains of foxes 

 and sheep were found at the head of the cave, but the bones to which 

 attention was particularly drawn, were found in a mass, in quite a sepa- 

 rate position, and easily distinguished from those of a more recent date. 

 "In searching in the cave," says Mr. Long, "I found some bones im- 

 bedded in stalactite, as also one almost forming part (as it might be 

 termed) of a rocky substance. It was the work of many hours to 

 clear away the soil and rock to obtain any specimens of the bones, but 

 I was successful in finding both human and animal bones, having been 

 accompanied by the individual who had been most active in the former 

 search. In the first instance there were about nine human sculls found 

 together, with a large quantity of human bones, and witli them were 

 the bones of bear, deer, ox, and horse. By comparison with the bones 

 in Mr. Beard's extraordinarj^ collection at Banwell, they are exactly 

 similar and apparently of the same era. Some of the bones and sculls 

 fell to pieces and crumbled to dust on being exposed to the air." 



On the Discovery of the Northern or Diluvial Drift containing Frag- 

 ments of Marine Shells covering the remains of Terrestrial Mam- 

 malia in Cefn Cave. By Joshua Trimmer, F.G.S. 



Mr. Trimmer's attention being drawn to the investigation of diluvial 

 phenomena in North Wales by the discovery of marine shells of exist- 

 ing species near the summit of Mael Tryfan in Caernarvonshire, which 

 is 1392 feet above the sea, he has become impressed with a growing 

 conviction that the detrital deposits of North Wales were suddenly 

 spread over pre-existing land, and not gradually accumulated beneath 

 the sea. The evidence on this subject he has presented to the Geolo- 

 gical Society, Dublin. In the present communication he describes the 



