766 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol.. 11., No. 4:1 



dolichocephalic, and one of the jaw-bones was 

 prognatiiic. In this interment, however, was 

 one peculiarity which we have never seen 

 noticed before. Over the whole interior, but 

 parlicularlj' at the eastern extremity- of the 

 gallery, there was spread a layer of rounded 

 pebbles, covering the hnnian remains. Thej- 

 ranged in size from an almond to a lai-ge apple, 

 and were mostly of quartzite, thougii inanj' 

 were of limestone, and several of basalt. Evi- 

 dently they had been brought from the beds 

 of neighboring brooks lying some three hun- 

 dred feet or more below the level on which the 

 monument stood. That they were not in- 

 tended merely to protect the bodies from wild 

 beasts was plain, from the fact that the adja- 

 cent soil was filled with angular fragments of 

 various rocks equally well adapted for that 

 purpose. Here we have evidently' a funereal 

 custom analogous to the heaping-up of cairus 

 over the dead by many primitive races. 



Numerous objects of great beauty and inter- 

 est were found accompanying the skeletons. 

 Among them were onlj' four celts ; but there 

 were no less than one hundred and twenty 

 flint arrow-heads, verj' inan3' of them of the 

 choicest workmanship, and including all the 

 well-known types which are figured in excellent 

 woodcuts. There were found two very fine 

 specimens of flint lance-heads, or more prob- 

 abl3- daggers, more than six inches in length, 

 and of exquisite workmanship ; and more than 

 thirt}" knives, ranging in length from five 

 inches down. There were also scrapers, nu- 

 merous flakes, and fragments of worked flint 

 of various sorts. Our author devotes an en- 

 tire plate to a delineation of some twenty little 

 instruments, some of whicli he thinks were 

 " designed for delicate work, such as the sur- 

 gical operation of circumcision ( ?) , and trepan- 

 ning." Another of larger size, disk-shaped, 

 and terminating in front in a little point, and 

 capable of standing upright on its base, his 

 imagination has magnified into ' an idol, or 

 some sort of symbol.' To our more prosaic 

 vision the ' surgical instruments ' are only ordi- 

 nary little stone implements, which in this case 

 happen to be made of transparent quartz ; 

 while ' the idol ' is merelj' a piercer for making 

 holes in skins, such as- we have often found 

 in our Indian shell-heaps. 



There were half a dozen objects of unusual 

 character, which Signor Kibeiro designates as 

 'war-clubs,' and two others, which he thinks 

 were 'badges of authority.' They are quite 

 similar in appearance, are of cylindrical shape, 

 and made of limestone ; and the largest is 

 about a foot in length, and nearly two inches 



in diameter. A few bone implements were 

 found, among them a button of a conical shape, 

 and pierced at the base with two converging 

 holes. The pottery consisted only of portions 

 of some half a dozen small, rude vases. Two 

 ornaments were found of considerable size, 

 celt-shaped, and made of thin plates of gray 

 argillaceous schist. One face was smoothed, 

 and decorated with figures made by scratching 

 lines upon it in the triangular pattern known 

 by the name of tiie ' dog-tootli ; ' and it was 

 pierced with a hole for suspension. Besides 

 these, two smaller heart-shaped pendants were 

 found, and more than a hundred beads of 

 various shapes and sizes, made of different 

 green minerals, out of which the author has 

 reconstructed several tasteful necklaces. Tak- 

 ing every thing into consideration, this covered 

 alley raaj' be said to be one of the richest ever 

 discovered ; and we feel grateful to the author 

 for his careful study and faithf^il delineation 

 of it. ~ ■ ■ 



We have already stated that two or three 

 peculiar objects were obtained from some of 

 the ruined dolmens. They are made of thin 

 plates of argillaceous schist, about a foot in 

 length, and some two inches broad, and are 

 shaped somewhat like the curved blade of a 

 sword, having the end rounded, and pierced 

 on the back side with a hole for suspension. 

 Both surfaces are smooth, and are decorated 

 with varying patterns of ' dog-tooth ' orna- 

 mentation. Two similar objects have been 

 previously discovered in Portugal ; but we are 

 confident they have never been met with else- 

 where, and their use is entirely unknown. 

 The third object is a sort of stone hoe, accord- 

 ing to our author's opinion, shaped very much 

 like a human foot, and having the lower por- 

 tion of the leg for the handle, the top of which 

 is sharp enough to be used as a scraper. Ob- 

 jects similar to this have been discovered in a 

 cave a short distance to the south. 



The Serra (or mountain) of Cintra lies due 

 west of Bellas, and somewhat more distant 

 than the latter place is from Lisbon. It is the 

 most picturesque of all the mountains in the 

 vicinity', and attains an elevation of over four- 

 teen hundred feet. At the very summit is 

 an artificial excavation in the porphj-ritic and 

 granitic rock, divided into two portions. The 

 inner chamber is circular, with a diameter of 

 twelve feet, and height of nine ; the other is 

 a kind of open vestibule about eighteen feet 

 square ; and the two are connected by a short 

 covered corridor, while the interior of the whole 

 monument is lined with a wall of rough stones. 

 In it were found a flint knife, or saw (an ellip- 



