3 o 4 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



diminish, but it is encouraging to note that each find obtained lower down 

 becomes of greater value, as each foot down suggests a more remote period. 



' A great quantity of rock and loose fallen stone has had to be removed, 

 and as these cover more than three-quarters of the area at the bottom of 

 the excavation, the work of removal, and sorting, is necessarily rather slow. 



' Fallen blocks are so numerous and compact that the possibility of great 

 subversion of contents of the cavern is ruled out, but crevices may have 

 existed through which a flint could slip down to a lower level than one 

 would expect to find it, in the same way that complete bones are sometimes 

 found which must have fallen between rocks, and have escaped the attentions 

 of the hyena. 



' Flints were not numerous this season, but fortunately there were more 

 Mousterian than Aurignacian, some of the former being fine specimens, 

 and new forms for Kent's Cavern. 



' The usual cave fauna has been found in fair abundance. Messrs. Powe, 

 the proprietors of the cavern, have recently much improved the lighting 

 conditions throughout, which incidentally has made exploration work more 

 efficient and agreeable. 



' Frederick Beynon, Arthur H. Ogilvie.' 



The Committee asks to be reappointed, with a further grant. 



EARLY MINING SITES IN WALES 



Report of Committee appointed to investigate early mining sites in Wales 

 (Mr. H. J. E. Peake, Chairman ; Mr. Oliver Davies, Secretary ; 

 Prof. V. Gordon Childe, Dr. C. H. Desch, F.R.S., Mr. E. Estyn 

 Evans, Prof. H. J. Fleure, F.R.S., Prof. C. Daryll Forde, Sir 

 Cyril Fox, Dr. F. J. North, Mr. V. E. Nash Williams). 



The majority of the mines in Wales suspected of being exploited anciently 

 have been visited with a view to more detailed examination next year. In 

 some cases, such as Halkyn Mt., recent work has completely destroyed 

 traces of earlier periods, but in most a few remains can be found, while 

 some of the ancient mines of central Wales have been little disturbed. 



Apart from the Roman state-mines at Dolaucothy, which fall into a 

 different category, there appears to be a fairly unified group of early workings 

 in north and central Wales. These seem normally to have sought copper 

 ore, even in districts where lead abounds. They cannot at present be 

 dated, but they are characterised by the use of stone hammers for pounding, 

 while the rock was probably broken by fire-setting. The hammers, which 

 may still be picked up in large numbers, are selected pebbles from beach 

 or stream-bed, usually rather long so that they could be grasped safely, 

 as notably at Cwm Ystwyth ; rarely they are provided with a rough rill 

 for the attachment of a handle, like one found at Nantyreira and several 

 in Chester Museum from Alderley Edge. The relation of these shapeless 

 rilled stones to those with finely polished groove in several of the North 

 Wales museums is at present uncertain. 



The early workings can stylistically be distinguished from their successors. 

 In North Wales Roman influence was strong, so the use of an adit guided 

 by a shaft at Llandudno or a pick-cut shaft at Talargoch need not surprise. 

 The mining area of central Wales was opened up by the road from Wroxeter 

 to Caersws and Aberystwyth, but was hardly affected by Roman civilisation. 



