60 REPOKT — 1877. 



and in the deposit below remains of Deer, Horse, Bear, Fox, Hyama (?), Copro- 

 lites, a few marine and land shells, one white flint tool with fragments of others, 

 a Roman coin, and potsherds. 



In a letter to Sir W. C. Trevelyan, dated 16th December, 1825, Dr. Buckland 

 states that Mr. MacEnery had found in this Cave " bones of all sorts of beasts, and 

 also flint knives and Roman coins ; in short, an open-mouthed cave, which has 

 been inhabited by animals of all kinds, quadruped and biped, in all successive gene- 

 rations, and who have all left their exuvias one upon another " (ibid. p. 69). 



Yealm-Bridr/e Cavern. — About the year 1832 the workmen broke into a bone- 

 cavern in Yealm-Bridge quarry, about one mile from the village of Yealmpton, 

 and eight miles E.S.E. from Plymouth ; and through their operations it was so 

 nearly destroyed that but a small arm of it remained in 1835, when it was visited 

 by Mr. J. C. Bellamy, who at once wrote an account of it, from which it appears 

 that, so far as he could learn, the Cavern was about 30 feet below the original 

 limestoue surface, and was filled to within from 1 foot to 6 feet of the roof (see 

 Nat. Hist. S. Devon, 1839, pp. 86-105). In the same year, but subsequently, it 

 wasexamined by Captain (afterwards Colonel) Mudge, who states that there were 

 originally three openings into the Cave, each about 12 feet above the river Yealm ; 

 that the deposits were, in descending order : — 



1. Loam with bones and stones 3*5 feet. 



2. Stiff whitish clay 2-5 „ 



3. Sand 60 „ 



4. Red clay 35 „ 



5. Argillaceous sand 6 to 18-0 „ 



and that, where they did not reach the roof, the deposits were covered with 

 stalagmite. 



On the authority of Mr. Clift and Professor Owen, Capt. Mudge mentions relics 

 of Elephant, Rhinoceros, Horse, Ox, Sheep, Hyama, Dog, Wolf, Fox, Bear, Hare, 

 and Water- Vole. The bones, and especially the teeth, of the Hyasna exceeded in 

 number those of all the other animals, though remains of Horse and Ox were very 

 abundant. Mr. Bellamy, whilst also mentioning all the foregoing forms, with the 

 exception of Dog only, adds, Deer, Pig, Glutton, Weasel, and Mouse. He also 

 speaks of the abundance of bones and teeth of Hyasna, but seems to regard the Fox 

 as being almost as fully represented ; and next in order he places Horse, Deer, Sheep, 

 and Rabbit or Hare ; whilst the relics of Elephant, Wolf, Bear, Pig, and Glutton 

 are spoken of as very rare. The bones, he says, were found in the uppermost bed 

 only. They were frequently mere fragments and splinters, some beiug undoubtedly 

 gnawed, and all had become very adherent through loss of their animal matter. 

 1 hose of cylindrical form were without their extremities ; there was no approach 

 to anatomical juxtaposition ; and the remains belonged to individuals of all ages. 

 Kehquise of Carnivorous animals greatly exceeded those of the Herbivora, and teeth 

 were very abundant. Coprolites occurred at some depth below the stalagmite, in 

 the upper bed, which also contained granitic and trappean pebbles, and lumps of 

 breccia made up of fragments of rock, bones, pebbles, and stalagmite. The bones 

 found prior to 1835 had been removed as rubbish, and some good specimens were 

 recovered from materials emploved in making a pathwav. Nothing indicating the 

 presence of man appears to have been found. 



The Ash-Hole.— On the southern shore of Torbay, midway between the town of 

 Brixham and Berry Head, and about half a mile from each, there is a cavern known 

 as the Ash-Hole. It was partially explored, probably about, or soon after, the time 

 Mr. MacEnery was engaged in Kent's Hole, by the late Rev. H. F. L v te, who, 



_■ s 

 ■ -J (p. 14). During the Plymouth 

 Meeting m 1841, Mr. George Bartlett, a native of Brixham, who assisted Mr. 

 £yte, described to this Section the objects of interest the Ash-Hole had yielded (see 

 Report Brit. Assoc. 1841, Trans. Sections, p. 61). So far as was then known the 



