i8 



NATURE 



\_Nov. 4, 1875 



during which the exploration of the gallery had reached seventy- 

 five feet from the entrance, where the great chamber discovered 

 by Clinnick may be said to begin. 



The following is a complete list of the objects of interest 

 found in this gallery from first to last :— Three shells of Helix 

 and about twenty bones of mammals lying on the upper surface 

 of the Granular Stalagmite ; a few gnawed bones incorporated 

 ■vvithin this stalagmite itself ; eight teeth of hyoena and two of 

 fox, a tolerable number of bones and fragments of bone, one 

 large chert implement, and one small flint flake, in the cave 

 earth ; and ninety teeth of bear and three of lion in portions 

 of a left lower jaw, a large part of a skull, numerous bones 

 and jiortions of bone, a flint pebble, and eleven specimens of 

 flint and chert implements, flakes, and chips, including the very 



fine tool, No. —L_ , in the Breccia. 

 6411 



The Cave oj Inscriptions. — The' chamber in which the Long 

 Arcade terminates has been called " The Cave of Inscriptions," 

 from the number of names, initials, and dates graved on the 

 stalagmite in various parts of it. Besides those on the "In- 

 scribed Boss of Stalagmite " at the entrance of the cave, de- 

 scribed in the Tenth Report, inscriptions occur on what is known 

 as the " Hedges Boss " and on the walls of the chamber. There 

 are also a large number of names, &c., smoked on various parts of 

 the 1 oof, as there are, indeed, in almost every branch of the 

 cavern, some of which appear to be of very considerable 

 antiquity. The oldest of the inscribed dates is 1609, and the 

 most modem 1 792, but the most conspicuous and most famous 

 of the inscriptions is ' ' Robert Hedges, of Ireland, Feb. 20, 

 1688." 



It was stated in the Tenth Report that the exploration of this 

 cave had been completed up to sixteen feet from its entrance, 

 when it was suspended in order to proceed with Clinnick's 

 Gallery ; that the Granular, or less ancient, Stalagmitic Floor was 

 found to be everywhere intact and continuous, and that the Crys- 

 talline, or more ancient. Stalagmite lay beneath it ; that the 

 latter had been broken by some natural agency, and though in 

 some cases the severed portions remained in situ, in others they 

 had been removed and were not always traceable ; that adjacent 

 to the left wall of the cave a wedge-like layer of cave earth lay 

 in its proper place between the stalagmites, and was six inches 

 thick at the wall, but thinned out about a yard from it, beyond 

 which the one floor lay immediately on the other. On resuming 

 the exploration of the cave it was found that the state of the 

 deposits continued to be the same up to thirty-four feet from the 

 entrance, with the single exception that the broken blocks of 

 crystalline stalagmite were never dislodged beyond being faulted 

 to the extent of two or three inches. At and beyond the point 

 just specified, traces of the earlier explorers were again met with 

 in almost every part of the cave, but were found to be limited to 

 the breaking up of the stalagmites and the subjacent deposit to 

 the depth of twelve inches at most. A thin layer of tjrpical 

 cave earth extended throughout the entire chamber, and it was 

 obvious that at the time when the deposition of the cave earth 

 commenced the crystalline stalagmite did not exist as a con- 

 tinuous sheet, for in considerable spaces the cave-earth lay 

 immediately on the breccia without any stalagmite between them, 

 and it was not always easy to determine the exact junction of the 

 two deposits. On the discovery of objects of interest at or near 

 this doubtful junction, care was taken to record them as 

 belonging to the "cave earth and breccia," even though, from 

 their own characters, it was usually easy to refer them to their 

 proper deposits and eras respectively. 



The Cave of Inscriptions was found to extend upwards of 

 sixty feet from north-east to south-west, forty-five feet from south- 

 east to north-west, and to be upwards of twenty feet high. 



Two " finds " only were met with in the Granular Stalagmitic 

 Floor ; one consisting of a few bones, including a portion of a 

 large humerus, whilst the other was a very small bone, probably 

 of bat, with bits of charcoal and of coprolite, all lodged m the 

 same hand specimen. 



The cave eailh yielded four teeth of hyaena, a few gnawed 

 bones, coprolites on several occasions, and one flint flake. 



At and near the junction of the cave earth and breccia, where 

 they were not separated by stalagmite, two right lower jaws and 

 four loose teeth of hyoena, thirty-eight teeth of bear, part of a 

 jaw of fox, one incisor tooth of a small rodent, numerous bones 

 and fragments of bone, a somewhat large number of coprolites, 

 and one flint flake were met with. At least most of the ursine 

 remains may be EaCely referred to the breccia, whilst all those of 



hyccna undoubtedly belong to the cave earth. One of the 

 hycxna jaws just mentioned contains all its teeth except the inner 

 incisor, but, as is commonly the case with lower jaws of the era 

 of the cave earth, it has lost its lower border and condyles, and 

 is much gnawed. The other jaw of hyrcna has lost the two 

 inner incisor teeth and the condyles, and is slightly gnawed, but 

 is otherwise entire. 



There were found in the Breccia eighty-two teeth of bear 



some of them in jaws or parts of jaws— two of lion, in a portion 

 of right upper jaw, numerous bones and pieces of bone, including 

 part of a skull and several other good specimens, and thirteen 

 implements, flakes, and chips of flint and chert. The lion's 

 teeth (No. 6,518) are the last two molars. The sockets of the 

 canine tooth and of the small tooth immediately behind it still 

 exist, and everything betokens an animal of great size. The 

 specimen, to which a considerable quantity of the breccia still 

 adheres, is peculiarly interesting as being found in a deposit in 

 which careful methodical research, continued for years, had 

 failed to detect any other osseous remains than those of bear, 

 with but one exception, and that, as already stated, being also 

 the lower jaw of a lion, found less than two months before. This 

 interesting relic was met with on 31st December, with two teeth 

 of bear, bones and fragments of bone, in the second foot-level of 

 Breccia. No feline remains have been detected since that date. 



A few only of the flint and chert specimens require 

 description : — 



No. 6,550 is an implement made out of a well-rolled chert 

 nodule. It is somewhat semilunar in form, but broader at one 

 end than the other, and measures about 4-4 inches in length, 

 2-3 inches in greatest breadth, and 2-5 inches in greatest thick- 

 ness, which it attains near the broader or butt-end. It has 

 undergone a considerable amount of chipping, has been reduced 

 to an irregular edge along the greater part of its perimeter, and 

 is comparatively thin near the pointed end. It is very, but 

 unequally, convex on both faces, each of which has a central 

 ridge, and retains the original surface of the nodule over the 

 whole of the butt-end, whence a trace of it extends along the 

 central ridge of the less convex face to about an inch from the 

 point. The portion of the surface which has been chipped is of 

 a yellowish hue, derived, no doubt, from the matrix in which the 

 specimen lay. This, however, is but a superficial stain, as there are 

 indications of an almost white colour within. This fine implement 

 was found 15th February, 1875, between the Hedges Boss and 

 the left wall of the cave, thirty-six feet from its entrance, in the 

 second foot-level below the surface, that is, in the uppermost 

 foot-level of the Breccia, _and having no other object of interest 

 near it. 



No. 6,565 is a chert implement 37 inches long, 27 inches in 

 greatest breadth, and 17 inches in greatest thickness, which it 

 attains not far from its centre. It has unfortunately lost one of 

 its extremities — apparently broken off whilst the tool was being 

 made. It is very, perhaps equally, convex on each face, but 

 the centres of convexity are not situated opposite one another ; 

 and, though made from a nodule, not a flake, no part of the 

 original surface remains. A considerable amount of work has 

 been expended on it, and it has been reduced to an edge all 

 round the perimeter except at the broken end. The marginal 

 edge is neither keen nor regular, nor in the same continuous 

 plane. There can be little doubt that it was intended to be a 

 somewhat pointed ovoid tool, and that had it been perfected its 

 form would have been more symmetrical than the breccia tools 

 are usually, and its colour is whiter than that of most of the im- 

 plements found in the same deposit. It was met with on 13th 

 April, 1875, in the second foot-level of the Breccia, without any 

 other object of interest near it, forty-seven feet from the entrance 

 of the Cave of Inscriptions. 



The earlier explorers had but imperfectly examined the ma- 

 terial they dug up in this branch of the cavern. On taking it to 

 th'e daylight, the committee found in it nineteen teeth of bear, 

 twelve of fox, nine of hyaina, two of horse, and one of rhino- 

 ceros ; a large number of bones, numerous coprolites, a fragment 

 of a marine shell, and six flakes and chips of flint. 



The exploration of this cave was completed on 14th June, 

 1875, having occupied the labour of between eight and nine 

 months. 



The following is a list of the specimens found in it in undis- 

 turbed ground, inclusive of those mentioned in the Tenth 

 Report : — One bone of bat, a few other bones, a few patches ofj 

 coprolite, andabit of charcoal, in the Granular Stalagmite ; twenty-| 

 seven teieth of hyaena, several of them in jaws or parts of jawSfl 



