William Davies — On the Exhumation of Omosaurus. .195 



mass, which was then found to be cracked in many places, although 

 no cracks were before visible. Matters now looked promising, for it 

 seemed possible to remoYO this concretionary mass in large blocks which 

 could be afterwards reunited. When, however, after some further 

 trenching around and digging beneath, we attempted to lift the first 

 block — a nearly square mass about eighteen inches across — from the 

 clay on which it was first formed, and where it had reposed for ages, 

 it fell from our hands in many pieces by its own weight, and its 

 enclosed bone was found to be wet, rotten and crumbling. Thus all 

 the sanguine expectations of success which the fissures had raised 

 were cast down, for should the whole nodule fall into small pieces as 

 this portion had, the prospect of preserving the imbedded bone seemed 

 hopeless. However, after careful examination it was found that no 

 other method than taking it up in blocks was practicable, and 

 preparations were made for removing it accordingly. Each block 

 as it was taken up was numbered, and each piece into which it fell 

 was marked with the same number, the smaller pieces being 

 wrapped in paper, also numbered, and then ranged in separate heaps 

 in an unused kiln. Every block when first lifted from the clay 

 broke into many pieces, and every subsequent removal, in their 

 transit from the pit to their final deposition in the National Collec- 

 tion, added greatly to the number. The contraction caused by the 

 rapid drying of the mass in the sun, whilst lying in the pit, was 

 also a source of disintegration; for the calcareous particles of which 

 the septarium was composed, although hard, had but little cohesion, 

 and broke readily into small cuboidal fragments with a short and 

 clean fracture ; whilst the quantity of bone it contained, which was 

 all in a more or less crumbling condition, and the veins of crystalline 

 calcite that traversed it in several directions were also sources of 

 weakness. 



The exhumation being completed, the whole mass, packed in many 

 cases (stone, clay, plaster and bones, weighing nearly three tons), 

 was forwarded to the British Museum. When unpacked, the 

 pieces — which now amounted to m.any hundreds — were ranged in 

 groups, and had more the appearance of heaps of worthless rock 

 debris, rather than of fragments to be united, and from which was 

 to be extracted the symmetrical bones of a huge reptile. The work 

 of reconstruction was at once commenced ; the bones imbedded in 

 the clay were divested of their plaster casing, gelatinized and mended, 

 for they were much decayed and broken. Piece by piece the septa- 

 rium was fitted and cemented together, until the pieces were formed 

 into great blocks, but not too big for convenient handling; these 

 again were fitted and placed together so as to restore the nodule as 

 nearly as possible to its original shape ; but its surface, owing to 

 its numerous joints, bore some resemblance to a very irregular piece 

 of tessellated pavement, or to a curious Chinese puzzle. These large 

 blocks were then united and firmly cemented, so as to form three 

 masses of nearly equal proportions. This was readily effected, for 

 fortunately I had discovered, in the course of removing it, that the 

 nodule had two parallel cracks running across its short diameter 



