ON ARCH^OLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN MALTA. 295 



were as much as 1| or 2 feet in diameter : the greater part of these 

 was heaped up to a height of about 3 feet along both sides of the 

 cave; the middle part, around the large stalagmite, must have been 

 cleared of them, evidently to form the pathway which runs inwards 

 from the mouth of the cave to a distance of over 200 feet. Among 

 the boulders both pottery and organic remains were found ; the former 

 consisted chiefly of sherds of various textures, the majority being very 

 rough and poorly baked, and several of them were as much as three- 

 quarters of an inch in thickness ; the latter consisted of lumps of seaweed 

 [Posidonia oceanica), which is often used here even at the present day 

 for bedding for cattle instead of straw, and of limb bones, vertebrae, 

 and jaws of cow, pig, and sheep or goat. These bones were, however, 

 so very friable that they would not suffer the least handling, and, with 

 the exception of the crown of some of the molars, all crumbled to dust 

 as soon as touched. 



All the boulders having been cleared away, the surface of the cave 

 earth was laid bare before us, so that we could begin digging the second 

 layer, upon which many land shells (Helix aspersa) were strewn. 



This layer varied in depth from 1 to 1^ feet; it consisted chiefly 

 of small stones, none of which was over 4 inches in its greatest 

 dimension; these were embedded in a very fine earth of a deep brick- 

 red colour. The organic remains met with in it consisted of some 

 roots and the remains of cow, pig, horse, and sheep or goat. The 

 majority of these bones were in a very fragmentary state ; none of them, 

 however, were so friable as those met with amongst the boulders in 

 the superficial layer. The only remains of the horse consisted of a 

 molar which was found close to the large stalagmite, at a depth of 

 ■J- foot from the surface. The remains of the stag were met at the 

 very bottom of this layer, and they consisted chiefly of limb bones, 

 jaws, vertebrae, and a few broken antlers ; these last were very much 

 like our globigerina limestone, both in colour and consistency. Land 

 shells were also met with in this layer, but only towards the right 

 side of the cave ; these consisted mostly of Helix vermiculata and Rumina 

 decollata, a few Helix CariiancB, one or two Helix nperta, a Helix 

 cellaria, a Cyclostoma melitense, and a few Clausilia hidens. We also 

 noted many fragments of land shells which it is quite impossible to 

 identify. The pottery met with in this layer consisted of sherds of 

 various texture, mostly belonging to the neolithic period. 



The next or third layer consisted of a very fine red earth with 

 hardly a single stone in it; it contained, however, many broken stalac- 

 tites, varying in length from only a few inches to two or three feet, 

 and in diameter from one-eighth or one-sixth inch to nearly one foot. 

 They lay at different depths in this layer, which in some parts was as 

 much as 3 feet thick. Many of these stalactites, which had evidently 

 been detached from the roof just above, must have been lying in the 

 position in which we found them for a considerable time, as was clear 

 from the stalagmites which were subsequently found above them, and 

 which in some cases were as much as one foot in height. 



Two large stalactites covered with a very thick stalagmitic foraia- 

 tion, which had fallen from the part of the roof just above, as 



