ON THE EXPLORATION OF THE SETTLE CAVES. 217 



on the left side of chamber A, consisting of largo blocks of limestone in clay, 

 and reducing that part to the same level as the right side of that chamber. 

 Our object in doing this is that we may reduce the level of the whole of our 

 present floor of working across the chamber to the depth necessary to disclose 

 the old river-bed, which must have been the lowest level of the cave. Several 

 indications lead us to suppose that we are not far off it, especially at the 

 entrance. The arching of the right wall, and the occurrence of several 

 grooves along it, apparently indicating old water-levels, are very suggestive 

 that we are at last neariug the original bottom of the cave. When that is 

 reached we can scarcely fail to meet with much that is interesting. 



The present entire absence of conditions which could render the existence 

 of a large stream possible in or near the cave as it now stands, taken in con- 

 nexion with the fact of the present stream being 900 feet below us, suggests 

 such an enormous interval of time necessary to effect these changes that we 

 might almost stand aghast at it did we not remember how great and many 

 are the vicissitudes which havo occurred in that interval, and to which the 

 cave and the surrounding district bear witness. Prom to-day to Romano- 

 Celtic times is our first stage as we go back into the past, and that probably 

 the shortest in the whole journey. The next takes us into the cloudland of 

 Neolithic times. Then, after an unknown interval, we come to the submer- 

 gence and emergence of parts of Lancashire to a depth of several hundred 

 feet. A further step, probably a long one, shows us the north of England 

 swathed in a great sheet of ice, which advanced and retired perhaps more 

 than onco. Again the scene changes, and the hyaena (that admirable histo- 

 rian) gives a record of his life and times. Further back, by a long period, 

 the wolf takes up the story, and tells us, so far, comparatively little. But the 

 bed of tho old river which made the cave before the wolf haunted it should 

 tell us a story which may fairly rival in interest any of the annals of cave- 

 history. 



The Committee are again indebted for kind assistance to Prof. Leith Adams 

 and Mr. William Davies, of the British Museum. 



Appendix. 

 Report on the Remains, by Prof. Bush. 



I have gone over the Victoria collection as well as time would allow ; but 

 having been mostly out of town for some time, I have not been able to com- 

 plete the task as fully as I should have wished, and have left a few doubtful 

 specimens for further determination. 



A large part of the collection consists of broken splinters and fragments, 

 apparently mostly of bones of the Ox and Deer, and some probably of Rhi- 

 noceros from their thickness. Of about 180 determined specimens, about 

 46 belong to Bos of two distinct sizes — one probably being Bos primigenius, 

 and the other, I should imagine, B. longifrons ; amongst these are a few that 

 appear to be comparatively recent. The next in frequency are teeth and 

 bones of Ursus — so far as 1 can perceive, U. ferox. Amongst these are somo 

 indicating an individual or individuals of very large size ; whilst others would 

 indicate a form not larger than U. arctos. Some of the upper molars are very 

 much like those of U. spelceus ; but there is no clear indication of that species, 

 and most of the teeth and bones are undoubtedly those of U. ferox fossilis. 



Next comes Ilycena spelcea, with 30 specimens, which call for no remark, 

 except that they show individuals of various ages, as usual. 



