ON Kent's cavkkn, uevonshxre. 11 



" Arched " entrances, the Cave-earth, or least ancient of the two great 

 mechanical acciimulations, is at a high level and of great depth. Thence it 

 slopes rapitUy downwards in all directions open to it, and at the same time 

 decreases in depth, until reaching the remote end of the " Lecture Hall " 

 towards the south and the bottom of the " Sloping Chamber " towards the 

 west. From these facts it has been concluded that the Cave-earth entered 

 the Cavern through the existing and known entrances. Beyond the foot of 

 the slopes just mentioned, the levels are found to be no longer governed by 

 the Cave-earth but by the Breccia (that is, the underlying or more ancient 

 deposit) ; and there is in each case an acclivity, instead of a declivity, on pro- 

 ceeding farther and further into the Cavern — comparatively sliort and abrupt 

 from the Lecture Hall to the Water Gallery on the east, but long and gentle 

 from the Sloping Chamber to the Recess, now under notice, on the west. 

 These acclivities apparently indicate that the Breccia entered the Cavern 

 not, like the Cave-earth, through the apertures on the eastern side of the 

 hill, but through an opening or openings on the western side ; and the same 

 line of argument points out the Recess in the north-western corner of the 

 Cave of Inscriptions as more likely than any other part of the Cavern to 

 lead to such an external entrance. So far as they can be studied, moreover, 

 its own characters support this hypothesis. The Recess extends in a north- 

 westerly direction for fully 60 feet, and is of sufficient width for a man to pass 

 easily ; beyond this its extent is considerable, but at present is too narrow 

 for any one to examine it. Its Floor, a thick sheet of the Crystalline, or 

 more ancient. Stalagmite, is abruptly truncated at the junction of the Recess 

 with the Cave of Inscriptions. Finally, this Floor covered and rested on a 

 thick mechanical accumulation, which is unmistakable Breccia and reached 

 a higher level than elsewhere in the Cavern, so far as is known at present. 



The exploration of the Recess was begun on 15th June, 1875; and as it 

 was decided to leave intact the Stalagmite Floor just mentioned, in fact to 

 burrow under it, it was necessary to cut the successive " parallels " 5 feet 

 deep instead of the usual 4, in order to give the men height enough for 

 working. During the progress of the work a hole was bored through the 

 Floor overhead, when it was found to be pure Stalagmite, 18 inches thick. 

 AVhen the excavation had reached a distance of 10 feet, the two walls were 

 found to be so very nearly together as to render it necessary to abandon the 

 work, or to break up the Floor and proceed at a higher level. The former 

 course being, though reluctantly, decided on, the work was suspended on 

 Gth July, 1875. 



The only objects of interest found here were 2 teeth of Bear, 3 " finds " of 

 bones, and 1 piece of flint (No. 6590) of no importance. 



The Alcove. — The exploration of the Alcove or recess near the Hedges 

 Boss, already mentioned, was begun on 7th July, 1875, and finished on 26th 

 of the same month, or at the end of about 3 Aveeks. When emptied, it proved 

 to be scarcely lofty enoiigh, from limestone floor to limestone roof, for an 

 ordii^ary man to stand erect, to measure about 10 feet both from north to 

 south and from east to west, to be divided into two compartments, a northern 

 and a southern, by a limestone partition extending almost completely across 

 it, and to have two entrances from the Cave of Inscriptions. The earlier 

 explorers had partially ransacked the northern compartment, but had not 

 entered the southern, in which a Floor of Stalagmite almost reached the roof. 

 Beneath this Floor, and without any trace of Cave-earth, lay the Breccia, 

 never exceeding 3 feet in depth, and resting on the limestone floor. 



