October 24, 1907] 



NATURE 



649 



suade the natives that the sacrifice of a dead rat as often 

 as possible to Kalee would avert pestilence, rats would 

 very soon be destroyed, and plague would be at an end. 



Cases of plague from time to time arrive at the Port 

 of London, and rats might therefore become infected and 

 start a pestilence in our midst. We are pursuing a foolish 

 policy in allowing rat- and flea-infected districts to exist in 

 the East End of London and other similar places. 



THE THIRD " PREHISTORIC " CONGRESS OF 



FRANCE. 

 'T'HE third Congres pr^historique de France was held 

 ■'■ at Autun (Saone and Loire) from August 12 to 

 August iS, and attracted some 350 adherents, about fifty 

 more than did the congress held at Vannes in 1906. More 

 than 150 archaeologists attended the scientific meetings 

 and excursions held at Autun. 



The congress was opened in the town theatre, where 

 an address of welcome was delivered by the Mayor 'of 

 Autun. Then Dr. A. Gu^bhard and Dr. Marcel Baudouin, 

 the president and general secretary respectively of the 

 congress, made the usual statements, and were followed 

 by the official delegate of the Minister of Public Instruc- 

 tion, Prof. Matruchot, of the Faculty of Paris and director 

 of Pro Alesia. Prof. Matruchot congratulated the Soci^t^ 

 pr^historique de France on the success it has attained, 

 and conveyed to it the compliments of the Government. 



On Monday evening, August 12, the congressists 

 attended a reception at the Town Hall at the invitation 

 of the learned societies of Autun, a group of bodies held 

 in high respect in France. The brilliancy of this gather- 

 ing was enhanced by the presence of numerous professors 

 and men of science from other lands, the list of those 

 present including the names of M. Rutot (Brussels), Prof. 

 Cossina (Berlin), MM. O. Montelius (Stockholm), 

 Valdemar Schmidt (Copenhagen), Count Zeppelin d'Arle- 

 hausen (prefect of Lorraine), M. Wassre (Switzerland), 

 MAL Lewis and DicUins (England), M. Peabody (U.S.A.), 

 &c. In addition to several German professors who assisted 

 in the meetings of the congress, there were also present 

 Profs. Adrien de Mortlllet (Paris), P. Girod (Clermont- 

 Ferrand), Dr. Henri Martin, M. Edmond Hue, M. Gustave 

 Chauvet (Ruffec). Dr. Baudon, deputy of Beauvais, &c. 



Among the subjects discussed should be mentioned that 

 which treated of the prehistoric features of the Eduen 

 country, in which the congress was held, and which was 

 celebrated in the Roman history of Gaul. In the environs 

 of Autun itself is situated the " Champ de la Justice," 

 a Neolithic station which has furnished a number of 

 " finds," and formerly included a fine megalithic align- 

 ment, which to-day is totally destroyed. This was visited 

 by those who attended the congress, and there is in- 

 dubitable evidence that it was formerly an ancient fortified 

 camp, of which only the eastern side of the vallum, which 

 has been investigated by M. D^chellette, remains. 



Part of another evening was devoted to each of the 

 walls of the town, and groups of the congressists also 

 visited the Roman remains of Autun, which is surrounded 

 on all sides bv primitive ramparts dating from the time 

 of Augustus ; the temple of Janus, the sepulchral pyramid 

 of Couhard, and the principal gates, such as La Porte 

 St. Andr^ and La Porte d'Arroux, were amongst the sites 

 visited. Then another place of great interest was found 

 in the Roman theatre, at one time an important struc- 

 ture, now a mass of ruins, which, however, forms one of 

 the chief attractions to tourists in Autun. 



The principal question on the agenda of the congress 

 was that of prehistoric camps and fortifications, which 

 have been thoroughly examined by the learned president 

 of the meeting, M. Gu^bhard. These were clearly de- 

 scribed and discussed by the president before a large meet- 

 ing of the whole congress held in the theatre on the 

 evening of August 13. The exposition was rendered more 

 enjoyable by the lantern-projection of more than 130 slides, 

 and was so enthusiastically received by the large audience 

 present that another afternoon was devoted to this complex 

 subject. 



.'\nothef lantern lecture was delivered, on the afternoon 

 of August 14, by Mr. Lewis (England), his subject being 



NO. 1982, VOL. 76] 



the principal megaliths of England, whilst Mr. F. V. 

 Dickins (England) exhibited a number of photographs of 

 Japanese megaliths taken by M. Goodhan. These photo- 

 graphs were greatly appreciated by the audience, and, in 

 the subsequent discussion. Dr. Marcel Baudouin, the great 

 French authority on the study of megaliths, insisted upon 

 the great interest of the English cromlechs and of the 

 Japanese allees couvertcs, which belong to a more recent 

 epoch, and of which the funeral ornaments singularly 

 recall those of the Gaulish sepultures. 



This meeting concluded with a lantern demonstration 

 given by Dr. Henri Martin, who dealt with the remains, 

 showing traces of utilisation, found at stations of the 

 Monsterienne epoch in Charente and Dordogne. 



It is not advisable to describe here all the communi- 

 cations discussed at the congress, but it should be recorded 

 that, concerning the megaliths, it seems to be generally 

 admitted in France that the monuments were unquestion- 

 ably oriented for a set purpose. Dr. Baudouin, who, 

 following Gaillard (of Plouharnel) and many others, scien- 

 tifically defends this theory in France, stated that the 

 orientation varies from N.E. to S.S.E. in Brittany and 

 Vendee, and clearly refers to the rising sun if one takes 

 into account the latitude of the place and, an important 

 factor, the momentous seasons. 



The variation of the orientations indicates that in erect- 

 ing these monuments all the seasons were considered, 

 although the alignments to the winter sun predominate, as 

 in Brittany, where the most frequent direction is S.S.E. 

 This is in good accordance with the results of the work 

 recently prosecuted in England concerning this important 

 problem. The author also insisted upon the relations 

 between menhirs and dolmens, and showed by an example, 

 ■xpropos and indisputable, that the menhirs were really 

 indicators of megalithic sepultures, or of the limits of the 

 necropolis of this epoch. By using two certain holed 

 stones as indicators, he was enabled to discover an allie 

 couve'rte which was buried under the soil, and had until 

 then remained undiscovered. This " find," made with re- 

 markable scientific precision, was received by numerous 

 foreign congressists as a striking example of the value 

 of a theory which many of them still ignore. 



The question of the place the Aurignacien stratum 

 should occupy in the classification of Palaeolithic indus- 

 tries w^as also discussed at length, first at Autun by Prof. 

 Girod, then at Solutr^ itself by Dr. Arcelin, jun., and 

 M. Adrien de Mortillet. One sees that the excavations of 

 Solutr^ should afford the much-desired solution of this 

 problem, but it is not there, for the stratigraphy of that 

 classical station is very intricate owing to serious land- 

 slides, and the consequent over-running, which detracts all 

 meaning from the disposition of the layers laid bare by 

 the recent work of M. Arcelin, jun. This worker believes, 

 however, the sotis-soluirienne layer to be re-mounted ; but 

 M. de Mortillet holds the opposite opinion, and believes 

 that the over-running is real. 



The question of forgeries was also discussed, and it was 

 decided that it is necessary to warn prehistorians con- 

 cerning " finds " in the CharoUais country, near Autun. 

 Possibly some of the Neolithic arrows of bizarre shapes 

 are genuine, but it is certain that others are the work 

 of clever forgers. 



" Eoliths," the fruitful source of much debate, also 

 came up for discussion. The subject seems threadbare in 

 spite of the frequent writings of M. Rutot. He apparently 

 admits that there are " eoliths " of every epoch of the 

 "Stone age," but the true "eoliths" are those which 

 correspond to the Tertiary deposits and suddenly appear 

 in the Lower Quaternary. This is what may be called, 

 with Dr. Baudouin, the PrichdJien, without entering into 

 the detail of the layers. 



Four days, instead of three, were this year devoted to 

 the final stages of the congress, the session being 

 augmented by one day for this purpose. In this time all 

 the camps were visited, special attention being paid to the 

 stations of the Iron age. Thus, in the days devoted to 

 the more extensive excursions, the congressists visited 

 Mont Beuvray, near Autun, which, under the name of 

 Bibracte, was formerly the central Oppidum of the Aedui. 

 Here are carefully preserved the precious remains of bravr- 

 Gaulois, of which other specimens were also seen in the 



