1869.] Archaeology. 513 



five, six, seven, one-and-a-half, and five feet in height, reckoning 

 from the hase ; and the platforms are fourteen, eight, and the three 

 uppermost, nine yards in hreadth. The peculiarity of these ridges, 

 as compared with ancient river-terraces, is their want of parallelism, 

 their disagreement in relative levels, and their general want of cor- 

 respondence with the course of the valley, as well as the fact that 

 one set of terraces disagrees with another near it. Mr. Hall cites 

 the opinion of Mr. Gf. Tate, F.G.8., in favour of the artificial, and 

 agaiyist the geological origin of these terraces. He refers to the 

 various theories as to the military uses to which they may have 

 been applied, and cites Lieut. Sitwell, R.E., against their fitness as 

 lines of defences. Finally, from independent investigation, the 

 author has been led to the conclusion that we have here the early 

 attempts at cereal cultivation of the ancient British inhabitants of 

 the valley. 



The author cites numerous authorities, both ancient and modern, 

 in favour of his theory, and we are bound to say he makes out a 

 good case. Mr. Gr. Poulett Scrope has given this explanation to 

 terraces in Wilts and Dorset, and shown that these "Linchets" or 

 "Balks" are still in process of formation on farms in Wiltshire at 

 the present day.* 



In the ' Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand 

 Institute,'t there is, among other interesting matter, a paper by the 

 Hon. W. B. Mantell, F.G.S., on the " Moa." 



After instancing examples to show that New Zealand was not 

 peculiar in the circumstance that huge birds, without the power of 

 flight, were the highest form of hfe previous to the arrival of man 

 in the islands, he proceeded to describe the different circumstances 

 under which the remains of the Moa are found, assigning the 

 highest antiquity to those that are found under the stalagmite in 

 certain hmestone caves similar to the bone-caves in which traces of 

 the early animals which inhabited Great Britain are preserved to 

 us. He drew attention to the fact, that in the British caves, 

 among the great variety of animals represented, there is always 

 evidence that they were dragged into these caves by beasts of prey ; 

 but New Zealand caves have failed to show any such cause for the 

 presence of the Moa-bones in them, or that any animal existed 

 beyond larger forms of those now inhabiting the islands. These 

 cave Moa-bones, and probably those found in certain alluvial depo- 

 sits, he considered to belong to a period before the arrival of the 

 aborigines. He then described the several circumstances under 

 which the remains of the Moa are found associated with works of 

 man, in such a manner as to leave no doubt that they co- existed 

 with the earhest aborigines, and were largely used as food, along 



* See ' Geol. Mae;.,' vol. iii., 1866, p. 293. 

 t Vol. i. (issued May, 1869). 

 VOL. VI. 2 N 



