OSSIFEEOUS CAVES OF GOWEK. 539 



temporaneity of the two extinct species of Bhirtoceros of Gower, a point 

 before open to question, and which at the same time appeared to throw 

 light upon the relation of man to the extinct Fauna. This cavern, 

 called ' Long Hole' by the neighbouring farmers, is situated in the line 

 of cliffs called the ' Yellow Top Bocks,' about a mile west of the village 

 of Port Eynon, and about one mile east from the Paviland Caves. It 

 occurs near the summit of an interruptedly escarped limestone rock, 

 facing the sea. Below, a precipice rises vertically, from the reef 

 forming the shore, to the height of 51 feet. From its summit a steep 

 slope, patched over with vegetation, stretches upwards and backwards, 

 along a distance of 258 feet, and with an inclination of aboitt 25°. 

 Above this scarp another rugged precipice rises to a height of 20 feet, 

 its summit being continuous with the surface of the country. The cave 

 forms a low, irregularly arched aperture, in a scooped bight of the 

 upper precipice, at its base, and is easily accessible from the plateau 

 above, by a short descent and then doubling round the limestone bluff 

 which bounds the cave towards the west. From an observation with 

 an aneroid barometer, the cavern is about 130 feet above ordinary high- 

 water mark. It occupies the uppermost part of a cleft, which, as in the 

 case of ' Bacon Hole,' ' Bosco's Den,' and other of the Gower Caves that 

 are situated on the sea cliffs, can be traced down upon the littoral reef 

 which is exposed at low water. The segment below the scarp of this 

 fissure is filled with a mass of gravelly conglomerate, forming a perpen- 

 dicular cliff 50 feet high, which readily disintegrates when washed by 

 the waves that are driven against its base, during the highest spring 

 tides, aided by south-westerly gales. The top of the section is overlaid 

 by a thin covering of limestone breccia, consisting entirely of angular 

 fragments of local origin, called ' Wark' by the quarry men, and corre- 

 sponding with the ' Head ' of Austen and other writers. This ' Wark ' is 

 enormously developed in the neighbourhood of Bacon Hole and some 

 of the other caves. At the base of the gravel section, and perched 

 about a foot above the mark of the highest spring tides, lies a huge 

 detached and residuary tabular mass of the old sea beach, observed 

 west of Mewslade by Mr. Prestwich. 



' Long Hole' opens towards SSE., and is visible from the sea, which 

 circumstance led to its exploration. When discovered the aperture 

 presented an irregularly arched low fissure, 7 feet 8 inches wide by 

 4^ feet high, which extended inwards about 44 feet. 1 At a distance 

 of 8J feet from the entrance, the cave widens to 12 feet; this also is 

 the highest point of the cave, the height being 7 feet. Passing inwards 

 the passage contracts, the width varying from 4 to 7 feet, although at 

 some places it was at first reduced to 2- 1 - feet from the projection 

 inwards of stalagmitic bosses. The floor inclines upwards towards the 

 extremity of the cave. The roof is horizontal, but very irregular, and 

 full of hollows, yet no flue has been discovered to connect it with the 

 surface. The floor of the cave consisted of ferruginous unctuous cave 

 earth, extending to a depth of about 7 feet, and intermixed with de- 

 tached angular fragments of the limestone rock 8 or 9 pounds in weight. 

 On clearing this away it was found to rest on the solid rock, without 

 any trace of sand or shingle. 



1 [The succeeding portion of the paper is compiled from the Author's Note- 

 books. — Ed.] 



