Prof, Harkness. — Elephant-remains in Ireland'. 255 



peared, some of them having been carried' away by rag-and-bone 

 collectors. 



The next discovery of Elephant-remains in Ireland w^as made 

 in 1859. This was also in the county of Waterford, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Dungarvan.' 



The locality which afforded these remains is a place called' 

 Shandon, about half-a-mile north-west of D;ungarvan. They were^ 

 discovered in working a limestone quarry for road material. Mr. 

 Brenan, who is resident in Dungarvan, first brought these remains 

 under the notice of naturalists, his attention having been directed 

 to them in consequence of " a workman exhibiting a large bone as 

 that of an antediluvian giant in the town of Dungarvan. 



Many bones were obtained from Shandon by Mr. Brenan, and are- 

 no w in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society ; a few are, how- 

 ever, in his possesion still. The bones in the Museum of the Royal 

 Dublin Society have been recognized by Dr. Alex. Carte, as apper- 

 taining to the "mammoth, cave-bear, brown bear, reindeer, horse, 

 and hare, with a small portion of the humerus of a bird, as yet 

 undetermined. ' ' 



With reference to the circumstances imder which the bones of the 

 mammals at Shandon occur, it would seem, at first sight, that they had 

 been derived from an ordinary ossiferous cave, but this, however, is- 

 not absolutely correct. On visiting the spot we were informed by a 

 workman, who had wrought in the limestone quarry from- whence 

 these remains were obtained^ that the bones occurred in the solid 

 rock. The quarry has for some years been abandoned, and we were 

 told that there was no chance of finding any more specimens. 



On carefully looking along the surface of an exposed mass of 

 breccia, forming a portion of the face of the- old quarry, fragments of 

 bone were recognizable in it ; and further investigation proved that 

 bones, and portions of bone, are still to be met with in considerable 

 abundance in the breccia, about the horizon where they can be seen 

 on the- face of the quarry. 



The Carboniferous Limestone of the old' quarry at Shandon dips 

 towards the- south-west, at an angle of about 10°, and no boulder- 

 clay is seen upon the surface of the limestones, which here overlays 

 the bone bearing breccia. The face of the quarry at the spot where 

 bones are seen in the breccia has the following arrangement from above 

 downwards : — First, about 18 feet of regular limestone, intersected 

 by a great number of closely approximating joints, which afford easy 

 access for the surface water into the lower portions of the rock, is seen. 

 Beneath this mass of regular limestone, breccias occur, irregular in 

 thickness, but averaging about five feet, above which are open spaces 

 separating the breccias from the superior limestone. These breccias 

 have resulted from the falling down of masses of limestone rock into 

 hollows which had been formed by the agency of water. In some 

 cases these breccias lie upon a limestone floor ; in other instances the 

 fragments have wedged themselves together before reaching the 



' Journal of the Eoyal Dublin Society, vol. ii. 



