198 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. — ^1915. 



that the detritus is almost as rich in flint and bone at the centre as 

 along the sides. Indeed, the sheer mass of the finds is well nigh over- 

 whelming. The bone, moreover, is in fairly good condition; so that, 

 for instance, a magnificent tooth of a prehistoric elephant has been 

 rescued virtually intact. The flint implements found in the depths of 

 the cave are on the whole of a relatively coarse and massive type, but 

 some finer specimens occur amongst them ; so that it would be 

 dangerous to assume that this is an earlier industry which was covered 

 up by falls of debris during Mousterian times, a shallow cave sufficing 

 for the later generations. The simpler hypothesis is that the best pieces 

 occur in the best-lighted parts of the workshop. 



It remains to acknowledge the assistance of a staff of volunteer 

 searchers too numerous to allow of individual mention. Mr. P. H. 

 Brodie, however, Ehodes Scholar of Worcester College, Oxford, 

 deserves special thanks for having contributed an unbroken month of 

 most useful work. In addition to the helpers referred to by name in the 

 previous Eeport, Mr. Nicolle, Hon. Secretary of the Soci6t6 Jersiaise, 

 and Mr. Voisin have rendered yeoman service. 



The funds provided by the British Association have been ere now 

 expended, but with the aid of the supplementary grant furnished by 

 the Eoyal Society work will be continued, it is hoped, until the latter 

 part of September. By that time a great part of the task will have 

 been accomplished, but not all. 



Appendix to Supplementary Report. 



The Supplementary Eeport described operations up to August 31. 

 Their end came with dramatic suddenness at 2.30 p.m. on September 3, 

 when the roof of the cave collapsed. The recess newly discovered at 

 the back of Working A had been opened up as regards its upper portions 

 (which proved to be implementiferous) to a depth of fifty feet from 

 the entrance. It was fully realised that this was a dangerous thing to 

 do, since the roof from about twenty feet inwards from the mouth 

 appeared to consist of loose material. Indeed, on the assumption that 

 the cave-filling had descended through a more or less vertical funnel, 

 the attempt was made last year to locate the top of this funnel on the 

 north side of the cliff at a spot some seventy feet above the floor-level 

 of the cave ; and a tentative excavation at this point found loose material 

 similar to that which seemingly composed the cave roof. It was 

 thought extremely likely, therefore, that by undercutting to an extent 

 of some thirty feet a column of heavy rock-rubbish at least twenty or 

 thirty feet thick, tliere must eventually ensue a complete dibdcle; and of 

 late an anxious watch had been kept on the roof for signs of ' creep- 

 ing. ' The first two days of September had proved remarkably prolific 

 in the matter of finds, and even on the morning of September 3 about 

 forty implements and some very fine pieces of bone were unearthed ; so 

 that it was well worth while to try to carry on to the last. Suddenly 

 dust and small stones began to drop from the roof on all sides, and it 

 was obvious that collapse was a matter of minutes. There was just 

 time to remove tools and other belongings when an avalanche of some 

 fivo hundred tons of rock and clay descended with an overwhelming 



