210 REPORT— 1873. 



state. My present object is to call attention to the fact that whilst all the 

 noteworthy flint and chert implements which Kent's Hole has yielded are 

 nnpolished, and all fonnd with the remains of tlie extinct Cave mammals, 

 they belong to two distinct classes, eras, and states of civilization. 



It may be well at the outset to describe brieflj'^ the successive deposits 

 and their contents met with during the exploration of the cavern by the 

 Committee appointed by the British Association in 18G4, whose labours have 

 extended without interruption from March 186-5 to the present time, and are 

 still in progress. Thej^ are as foUow : — 



1st, or ujipcrmost, Blocks of limestone, from a few pounds to upwards of 

 one hundred tons each, which had fallen from the roof, from time to time, 

 and were occasionall}- cemented together with stalagmite. 



2nd. Beneath and between the blocks just mentioned lay a dark-coloured 

 mud, from 3 to 12 inches thick, and known as the Blade Mould. 



3rd. A Stalagmitic Floor of granular texture, varying from an inch to 

 upwards of 5 feet in thickness, and frequently containing large blocks of 

 limestone similar to those mentioned above. This was known as the Granular 

 /Stalagmite. 



4th. An almost black layer, composed mainly of small fragments of 

 charred wood, and about 4 inches thick. This, termed the Black Band, 

 was a local deposit occupying an area of about 100 square feet, and, at its 

 nearest approach to it, aboiit 32 feet from one of the entrances to the cavern. 



Sth. An accumulation of light-red clay, containing : — on the average, about 

 50 per cent, of small angular fragments of limestone, with occasional blocks 

 of the same substance as lai'ge as those lying on the surface as already stated ; 

 large isolated masses of stalagmite having a very crystalline texture ; suban- 

 gular and rounded fragments of quartz and red grit, derivable not from the 

 Cavern hill, but from the adjacent and greater heights ; and a very few granitic 

 pebl)les. This, known as the Cave-earth, was usually of unknown depth, 

 but it certainly, and perhaps greatly, exceeded 4 feet in most cases. 



6th. Wherever the bottom of the Cave- earth was reached, however, there 

 was found beneath it a Floor of Stalagmite, having a crystalline texture 

 identical with that of the detached isolated masses incorporated in the Cave- 

 earth as just stated. This, designated the VnjstalUne Stalagmite, was in 

 some instances little short of 12 feet thick. 



7th. Below the whole there lay, so far as is at present known, the lowest 

 and oldest of the Cavern deposits, consisting of subangular and rounded 

 pieces of dark-red grit, imbedded in a sandy paste of the same coloui'. This, 

 the thickness of which is unknown, is denominated the Breccia. 



The lumps of stalagmite and fragments of grit found imbedded in the 

 Cave-earth were undoubtedly portions of the two older deposits (the Crystal- 

 line Stidagmite and the Breccia), and show that these accumulations had 

 l)ecn broken up by natural agency before the introduction of the Cave-earth, 

 and that they were formerly of greater volume than at present. 



Excepting the overlying blocks of limestone, No. 1, all the deposits just 

 desci-ibed contained remains of animals. In the Black llould, or most modern, 

 they were those of species still existing, and almost all of them now occupying 

 the district. They were man, dog, fox, badger, brown bear. Bos longifrons, 

 roe-deer, sheep, goat, pig, hare, rabbit, water-rat, and seal. In the Granular 

 Btalagmite, Black Band, and Cave-earth, and especially the last, extinct as 

 well as recent animals presented themselves, the Cave-hya3na being the most 

 prevalent, but followed very closely by the horse and rhinoceros. Remains 

 of the so-called Irish elk, wild bull, bison, red deer, mammoth, badger, the cave-. 



