356 The Iguanodon in the sands of the chalk. 



pieces, and upon this fact being made known to the proprietor of the 

 quarry, Mr. Binsted, that gentleman directed all the portions to be 

 collected together and carefully preserved, and finally succeeded in 

 replacing the greater part of the block. He then proceeded to 

 chisel away the surrounding stone, until he had exposed those bones 

 which were superficially situated. The story of the discovery of 

 the bones of an antediluvian giant quickly spread abroad, and an im- 

 perfect notice of the circumstance found its way into the London 

 papers ; curiosity was thus awakened, and many of the gentry of 

 the neighborhood flocked to Mr. Binsted's house to see this so cal- 

 led "Aomo diluvii testis;'^- but among his numerous visiters, Mr. 

 Binsted could find no one capable of giving him any satisfactory ex- 

 planation of the nature of these remains, or probable conjecture as 

 to the kind of. animal to which they belonged. He therefore ad- 

 dressed a letter to Mr. Mantell of Brighton, (late of Castle Place, 

 Lewes,) and informed that gentleman of such particulars as an in- 

 telligent person, unacquainted with comparative anatomy, could com- 

 municate. When the specimen was still further cleared, Mr. Man- 

 tell visited Maidstone, and proceeded to a scientific investigation of 

 these interesting remains. 



They consist of the greater number of the bones of the posterior 

 portion of the skeleton of a reptile of enormous magnitude, distrib- 

 uted without any order or regularity in the stone, scarcely any two 

 of them being in juxta-position : they are much broken and splinter- 

 ed, but are not water-worn. The stone in which they are imbedded 

 is an arenaceous limestone, that abounds in the usual marine shells of 

 the lower green sand strata, namely, Trigonia, Turritellcz, Ger- 

 villice, Ammonites, teeth of fishes, &fc. The following bones 

 were sufficiently developed at the time of Mr. Mantell's visit to ad- 

 mit of being determined ; and there were many others that were 

 only partially exposed, but which may hereafter be brought to light. 



Two femurs or thigh-bones : one so entire as to show both ex- 

 tremities, and also indications of a process or lesser trochanter, situ- 

 ated on the tilial aspect of the shaft of the bone. Length thirty 

 three inches. 



A tihia, about thirty inches long. 



Fragment of a fibula, lying near the tibia. 



Several metatarsal or phalangeal bones. 



