SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— H. 387 



this, too, was perhaps after all Indo-European rather than Etruscan — the speech, 

 that is, of some early west Indo-European people isolated amongst Gauls and 

 Etruscans^another blow to the tlieory which found the oriRlnal home of the 

 Etruscan race amongst the Rhaeti. The inscribed horns must be votive offerings, 

 bub it is not clear what were the features' of the cult. The deity to whom the 

 offerings were made, it has been suggested, was of the Artemis-Diana huntress 

 type. Tliis suggestion would strengthen still further the accumulating evidence 

 of the northern origin of Artemis. 



8. Mr. S. Casson. — Becent Excavations in Macedonia. 



9. Dr. T. AsHBY. — Supplementary Excavations at Hal-Tarxien, 



Malta. 



The megalithic ruins of Hal-Tarxien, in Malta, have been recently excavated 

 by Professor T. Zammit, and fully described by him in Arciiiiol<i<ji<i.^ They 

 consist of a large sanctuary of three different periods, with smaller rooms, 

 probably priests' dwellings, annexed. Supplementary investigations were 

 carried on under the floors by Dr. Thomas Asliby, at Professor Zammit's 

 invitation in the spring of 1921, which bore out Professor Zammit's conclusions 

 as to the relative age of the various portions of the building. In almost every 

 part of the building which belonged to the first or second period an earlier 

 floor was found below that which had previously been cleared, and under both 

 floors a considerable quantity of pottery was found. In one case the removal 

 of the floor (which, as in most cases, was of beaten limestone dust, known locally 

 as torba) led to the discovery of a circular opening in the natural rock, closed 

 by a round slab 2 ft. in diameter. When this was removed a cavity resembling 

 a Benedictine bottle in shape was revealed. It was a little over 5 ft. in height 

 and 3 ft. in diameter, and probably intended for the storage of grain, but only 

 a quarter of an inch of earth was found in it. 



In the portions of the building belonging to the third period there was, as 

 a rule, no evidence of the existence of any earlier floor. 



Monday, September 11, 



10. Mr. E. K. Tratman. — Explorations of Read's Cavern, near Bur- 

 rington Combe, Somerset. 



The cave consists of a long rift chamber with offshoots, and lies at tht 

 junction of the limestone shales and the ' Z beds ' of the mountain limestone. 



The floor consists of a black hearth level 3 in. to 8 in. in depth, and covered, 

 where possible, by a layer of stalagmite { in. to 3 in. thick. Below is a layer of 

 clay and boulders, never more than 2 ft. thick, barren of human remains. 



All the remains, with a few exceptions, have been found in the hearth level, 

 while the individual hea.rths are scattered throughout the cave, but one area 

 appears to have been the main occupation area. Human bones are scanty as 

 yet. Animal remains are abundant, and include sheep, pig, ox, horse, dog, and 

 goat, as well as roedeer, wild cat, and wild boar. 



The artefacts include articles of iron, bronze, bone, and stone and pottery. 

 This last is usually fragmentary, but can be pieced together, and bears tlie 

 designs typical of the period. The stone implements comprise spind!e whorls 

 and the upper stone of a saddle-backed quern. Needles and weaving imple- 

 ments of bone are found, as well as 'cheek pieces' made from antler. The 

 artefacts of bronze include brooches, nave hoops, and rings, while amongst 

 the iron are slave shackles. kej'S, nails, &c. The only weapons found so far 

 are a spear-head, part of a lance, and, possibly, part of a dagger. 



■Ixvii., 127; Ixviii., 263; Ixx., 179 

 1922 D D 



