FLINT PITS 299 



A few splinters of flint are found, but very few, 

 showing how careful the men were about every morsel 

 of it they broke off, and one rough flint axe or " celt." 



The big and royal antlers are broken off the horns 

 and then you have a capital pick. Nearly all the horns 

 are naturally shed, there were, I think, only 3 taken 

 off dead deer, and this is curious, for however abundant 

 deer may have been, it is notorious that the finding of 

 shed horns is a rarity. I got a very good pick which 

 was found and brought " to bank " while I was there ; 

 it has been much used, the point blunted and hammer 

 end worn by use. 



Of other " works of art " I saw 'several shallow cups 

 cut out of chalk, which it is suggested may have been 

 used as lamps. I went down the ladder and into one 

 gallery ; the pick marks on the walls and roof are as 

 plain and fresh-looking as possible and Greenwell 

 declares some of the picks have thumb or finger marks 

 (showing the grain of the skin) in the fine chalk with 

 which they are now encrusted. There is no doubt about 

 the existence of these marks, but I found I could make 

 them for myself and I doubt their being impressions of 

 the skin of their ancient proprietors. 



Altogether the discovery is very wonderful, and I 

 hope other people will go to work and open some more 

 pits. You may fairly give them an age of 2000 years, 

 for it is clear that metal was unknown at the time. 



Greenwell is convinced that if more pits are opened 

 they will find the skeleton of some ancient miner who 

 was overwhelmed by a fall ; it is very likely, and I hope 

 the search will be continued, but Angerstein as you 

 know is a queer customer and it is impossible to say 

 what crotchet he may have. 



A.N. to J. A. Harvie-Brown : — 



Bloxworth, Blandford, 



August 29, 1876. 



I am very glad to have your confirmation of my 

 opinion as to there being dialects in the song of birds. 



