108 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



tion of more than 300 metres (nearly 1000 feet) above 

 the river Sele, and at a locality which appears to be 

 connected with circular and rectilinear fortifications, 

 whereof the ruins bear a resemblance to what are com- 

 monly called Cyclopean walls, such as occur in Asia 

 Minor, Greece, and Italy. Here it is, that an unknown 

 people actually did bury, or at least made ossuaries of 

 the dead, at a period so remote, as in all probability to 

 be anterior to the arrival of the historical Celtae, who 

 were themselves colonists ere the Gauls established 

 their power west of the Rhine. The people in ques- 

 tion, though barbarian, was not a mere assemblage of 

 savages. It was stationary, if we can trust the defen- 

 sive structures to have been its work, and had social 

 institutions, at a time when the rhinoceros and extinct 

 reindeer had not departed. An obscure and remote 

 tradition, pervading the present inhabitants, that 

 among other localities, there existed caverns, on the 

 right side of the river, replete with wondrous treasures ; 

 an entrance into one was at length searched for, and 

 in 1825, digging in a spot judged to be favourable, at 

 the depth of three feet, the excavators found a human 

 skeleton, and an iron tool of a forked shape. They 

 continued to sink a shaft to the depth of 18 metres, 

 about 56 English feet, until they encountered a stone 

 barrier of human workmanship ; and having forced a 

 passage, the workmen discovered three branches or 

 natural galleries, and passed by one of them into the 

 desired cavern. Instead of treasures, however, human 

 bones were found in great quantities. They were 



