Reports and Proceedings. 227 



2. Mr. Thomas Smyth read a short paper " On Shell-mounds, 

 and on the discovery of shells in the superficial deposits in the 

 Queen's Park near St. Anthony's Chapel." The age of shell-mounds 

 is indicated by the remains found in them, and may by divided into 

 four periods, which are now pretty generally recognised by archeeo- 

 logists. (1) The period of flint weapons rudely shaped ; (2) that 

 of flint weapons well-shaped, and of implements of polished stone ; 

 (3) that of bronze, and (4) that of iron, commencing with the dawn 

 of the Roman empire and coming down to the present day. Several 

 excellent geologists, who have not made archseology a study, consider 

 that the term "shell-mounds" must be applied solely to those mounds 

 which belong to the first period, that " of flint weapons rudely 

 fashioned; and that all shell-mounds must therefore be, like the 

 Danish "Kjokken-modding," or "kitchen-refuse heaps," pre-histo- 

 rical. Instead of belonging to any one period, many of those mounds 

 belong to all the four, with centuries intervening, each addition to 

 the refuse-heap, in the ascending scale, showing an improvement in 

 civilization. On the other hand the author found so lately as the 

 last century, the natives of the Andaman Islands, the inhabitants of 

 Terra del Fuego, and other isles, used flint and stone weapons ; and 

 the descriptions given by travellers of the shell-mounds, which were 

 then being formed, exactly corresponded with the pre-historic mounds 

 which we have seen in Denmark. Along the eastern shores of the United 

 States of America there are similar mounds not four centuries old. 

 It would, therefore, be absurd to limit the age of shell-mounds to any 

 precise point of antiquity ; and he considered it would be more phi- 

 losophical, and less confusion would arise, were all writers to describe 

 those mounds, in Europe at least, as belonging to the periods, or the 

 combination of periods, which the nature of the weapons found in 

 them indicated. 



In the second part of his paper Mr. Smyth stated that various de- 

 posits of shells had been found in the Queen's Park, Edinburgh, but 

 he believed that they were all of very modern date. Last month he 

 accidentally discovered one of these modern deposits on the slope of 

 the hill below St. Anthony's Chapel. The shells, which consisted of 

 the common oyster, were isolated, and lay, so far as he could observe, 

 at the depth of from sixteen to twenty-six inches below the surface, 

 he also found many bones of sheep and oxen in the place ; and a 

 gentleman has since discovered two Scotch coins (bodies) one of them 

 of the reign of King James III., and the other of the reign of King 

 James V., the former at a depth of two feet two inches, and the latter 

 at a depth of one foot ten inches, both being in juxtaposition with 

 the shells. — J. H. 



CoTTESWOLD Nattiralists' Field-club. — At the Annual Meet- 

 ing of this Club, held on the 21st of March, the members met at 

 the residence of their esteemed President, Sir W. V. Guise, Bart., at 

 Elmore Court, which is situated near the Severn, about four miles 

 from Gloucester, The President commenced the business of the day 

 by the reading the annual address, in which he reviewed, in an able 



