OSSIFEROUS CAVES OF GOWER. 507 



bones, is accumulated above the sand ; while in ' Bacon Hole ' 

 the alternate deposits of stalagmite, black sand, ochreous 

 earth and breccia, up to the top, were all of sub-aerial 

 formation. 



7. ' Minchin Hole ' Cavern. 



Description. — The bone cavern named ' Mmchin,' or ' Min- 

 chin Hole,' became the next object of Colonel Wood's ex- 

 plorations. It is a very spacious cave, of a grand and lofty 

 character, several hundred yards to the west of ' Bacon Hole,' 

 and separated from it by a bight or indentation of the coast, 

 the lower terrace of the intervening cliff being surmounted 

 by an enormous accumulation of cemented limestone-breccia. 

 It is situated in the bottom of a dark and gloomy recess, and 

 like ' Bacon Hole,' the excavation follows the line of a fault 

 in the limestone strata. The mouth is open and so lofty 

 that light penetrates a considerable way into the interior. The 

 following are the principal dimensions : — • 



Length, from the outer arch to the extremity of the cave, 170 ft. Height at the 

 entrance, about 35 ft. Width at ditto, below the arch, 17 ft. Greatest width of 

 the interior, 70 ft. Ditto, ditto, at 6 ft. from the end, 36 ft. 



(ft.) Section of the Floor Deposits. — The cavern is entered 

 by ascending a steep step of talus, composed chiefly of 

 ejected materials ; this is succeeded by a more level space, 

 about 35 feet in length, which in turn is succeeded by a 

 second step of talus, stretching 51 feet back to the end of 

 the cave. The floor is very unequal, and the excavations 

 were but partial, having been greatly impeded by enormous 

 accumulations of stalagmite covering the inferior deposits. 

 They were carried on more with a view to the exhumation 

 of more perfect remains than were found in 'Bacon Hole,' 

 and less attention was in consequence paid to the vary- 

 ing thickness and other minute details of the different de- 

 posits. At the entrance the floor was covered with (1) loose 

 debris and breccia of limestone to the depth of 3 feet, suc- 

 ceeded by (2) a stratum of cave-earth about 9 inches thick ; 

 (3) one foot of sand ; (4) next, a deposit of blackish or dark- 

 coloured loamy sand, resembling in mineral character the 

 corresponding ossiferous deposit of 'Bacon Hole,' and at- 

 taining a depth of 2^ feet : — abundant remains of Rhinoceros, 

 Elephas, and Bos were yielded by this bed, and shells of 

 Helix hispida were found attached to the matrix which en- 

 crusted some of the bones ; (5) at the bottom, and resting 

 upon the rock-floor, lay a bed of greyish-yellow, coarse, and 

 gritty marine sand, ranging from one foot to four feet in 

 thickness, which yielded a considerable quantity of bones of 



