214 REPORTS ON THE STATE OP SCIENCE. — 1915. 



birds which varied from the size of a pigeon to that of a common fowl ; 

 to what species these belonged I could not make out, so I have sent 

 them to Dr. Smith Woodward, of the British Museum of Natural 

 History, for identification. In the remaining part, which varied in 

 depth from one inch to about one foot (the bottom of the fissure being 

 sloping), we found a part of the right tibia of the swan (Cygnus 

 Falconerii) and more cervine remains, amongst which a good part of a 

 shed antler, whose thickness at the base was one inch. 



All the animal remains at the bottom were in a much more frag- 

 mentary state than those found further up. The only parts found in a 

 good state of preservation were the above-mentioned antler and some 

 cervine teeth; amongst these were found two human ones, belonging to 

 the upper jaw. 



I am not aware that in Malta human remains have been previously 

 found associated with the above-mentioned animal remains. The dis- 

 covery is thus one of great importance. 



The fissure just described leads to another further down; in this, 

 however, no animal remains were found. 



Fissure 2. — The original opening to this fissure, which is not more 

 than eight yards apart from Fissure 1, is a crevice of the slanting type, 

 and the fissure is quite different from Fissure 1, too; in fact, it is a 

 straight crevice in the rock, which widens as it goes down ; its direction 

 is N.W. to S.E. The present entrance, which is a section of it, faces 

 the S.E. ; its greatest height just permitted one to stand up straight. 

 The digging here was conducted by Dr. T. Ashby, who was assisted by 

 Captam F. H. S. Stone, of the P. & 0. s.s. Isis. The earth in this 

 fissure, which was of the same quality as that in Fissure 1, was mixed 

 almost to the bottom with the white dust of the Globigerina stone of the 

 quarry. The animal remains which I could identify belonged to the stag 

 (C. elaphus var. harbarus), a dormouse (Myoxus meltensis), two species 

 of swan (Cygnus Falconerii), and several species of birds which have not 

 yet been identified; together with these were also found parts of the 

 carapace of the tortoise which must have been not much smaller than the 

 gigantic tortoise found at Corradino two years ago, and about which a 

 full report by Professor N. Tagliaferro was published in the Bulletin 

 of the Malta Historical and Scientific Society. All the doubtful bones 

 from this fissure have been also sent for identification to the British 

 Museum. 



Herba Fissure No. 2. 



Prof. Zammit and Mr. Eizzo did some more digging in Fissure No. 2, 

 which extends still further in. The earth here continued to be of the 

 usual red quality, and in it the animal remains belong to the stag, 

 tortoise, swan, and birds which vary from the size of a pigeon to that 

 of a duck or small goose. No remains of the Myoxus were met with 

 during this period of excavations. 



Some of the bones are in a very good state of preservation ; others, 

 however, are so very friable as to make it almost impossible to extract ; 

 others are in such a fragmentary state as to leave no hopes for 

 identification. 



The remains of the smaller birds are identical with those sent to 



