ON KENT'S CAVERN, TORQUAY. 265 



The subject of early iron objects has not been overlooked, the statement having 

 been recently repeated that iron was smelted as early as 3000 B.C., in spite of the 

 evidence that such early iron objects are of meteoritic origin. Scraps of the well- 

 known iron ingot, found in the palace of Khorsatad, were received from Mr. G. A. 

 VVainwright.. of Cairo, and were found to contain neither nickel nor manganese. An 

 iron fragment included in the batch received from Miss Bell and marked ' not later 

 than 600 b.c' also contained no nickel. 



I have been informed by Dr. John Evans that he has recently found copper ores 

 containing both nickel and manganese in Sinai. 



I shall be glad if tlie committee may be allowed to retain the unexpended balance 

 of the grant. 



Kent's Cavern, Torquay.- — Report of ConimUtce appointed to co-operate 

 with the Torquay Natural History Society in investigating Kent's Cavern. 

 (Sir A. Keith, Chairman ; Prof. J. L. Myres, Secretary ; Mr. M. C. 

 BuRKiTT. Dr. R. V. Favell, Mr. fx. A. Garfitt, Miss D. A. E. Garrod. 

 Prof. W. J. Sollas.) 



In the report of last year reasons were given for stopping work in the Vestibule of 

 Kent's Cavern, and after due consideration, it was decided to commence this season's 

 operations on January 7, in the Wolf's Cave. This is a chamber situated nearly 

 north-west of the Vestibule, branching off from the intervening Sloping Chamber, and 

 is 100 feet from, and vertically about 20 feet below, the entrances to Kent's Cavern. 



The Wolf's Cave has a continuous western wall, which, as one of the Cavern's main 

 walls, extends down the Long Arcade into the interior ; its eastern wall commences 

 where the chamber branches off the Sloping Chamber, and from that point to its 

 N.W. end is 28 feet. 



At 12 feet from the begioning of the eastern wall the chamber attains its greatest 

 width of 14 feet, and there are three passages or openings through the wall into the 

 adjoining Cave of Rodentia. The Wolf's Cave was dug into three times before our 

 labours began — by Rev. J. McEnery between 1825-9 ; then by the British Association 

 under Mr. W. PengeUy, in 1871-2 ; later by Messrs. Powe and Storrs about fifteen 

 years ago. A quantity of material excavated had been left in the Cave by the latter, 

 and a number of large bone fragments lined the borders of their old trench, and gave 

 hope of good finds. 



Since January 7 excavations have been carried out once a week, and after removing 

 the disturbed material a trench was dug from wall to wall, inwards, about 20 feet 

 long by from 3 to 4 feet deep in undisturbed Cave Earth, in the course of which it has 

 been necessary occasionally to remove large blocks of fallen limestone in addition to 

 a great quantity of smaller fragments incorporated in the Cave Earth. In this were 

 found a number of rounded and angular stones of the Red Grit of the Lower Devonian, 

 derived from the Lincombe Hill which dominates the Cavern HiU — many more than 

 came to hand in the Vestibule. 



The remains of the old granular stalagmitic floor, broken up by McEnery and by 

 Pengellj', stiD adhere to the walls and give the datum line by which to work. Below 

 this stalagmitic floor PengeUy excavated 4 feet ; this season's work represents a 

 further excavation from 3 to 4 feet deeper. 



So far there have been no further finds of man's handiwork, and experience in 

 other parts of the Cavern tends to show that the deeper levels of the Cave Earth 

 contain few or none. PengeUy recorded five implements from the first, third, and 

 fourth foot levels, but a minute piece of flint was aU that was found. The dearth of 

 implements at the lower levels in this chamber and in the Vestibule suggests that 

 there was a time during the early Cave Earth period when man was not in the vicinity 

 or when the Cavern was unknown to him. 



However, it is proved that a great depth of Cave Earth is stiU in the Cavern, 

 and that it contains the usual reUcs of the Cave Fauna. McEnery had observed that 

 the bones inhumed beneath the stalagmitic floor of the Wolf's Cave were found jammed 

 under the ledges and in the crannies of the waUs, and under faUen rocks. Our 



