OSSIFEROUS CAVES OF SICILY. 



543 



XXI. ON THE OSSIFEROUS GROTTA DI MACCA- 

 GNONE, NEAR PALERMO. 1 



Dr. Falconer first described the physical geography of that 

 portion of the north coast of Sicily in which the ossiferous 

 caves abound, namely between Termini on the east and Tra- 

 pani on the west. The geological structure of the tract has 

 been ably investigated and mapped by Hoffmann. A great 

 mass of Hippurite-limestone stretches from Termini to the 

 eastern side of the Bay of Castellamare, which on the side 

 towards Termini forms rugged precipitous or scarped cliffs 

 skirting the sea-shore. From Cape Zaffarana to Capo di 

 Gallo, a distance of about twenty miles, the coast-line is 

 deeply indented by the Bay of Palermo ; west of Capo di 

 Gallo there is a smaller indentation, backed by Carini ; and 

 still further to the west there is the deep Gulf of Castella- 

 mare. At the bottom of these indentations the mountains of 

 Hippurite-limestone recede from the coast, forming inland 

 precipitous cliffs or rugged slopes, from the base of which 

 stretch slightly inclined flats of marine Pliocene deposits, 

 which disappear under the sea. These latter form nearly 

 horizontal strata of a calcareo-argillaceous sandy breccia, full 

 of marine shells and fragments of corals, &c. Philippi iden- 

 tified 209 species of Mollusca from this deposit in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Palermo, the great majority being of living 

 species. The ossiferous caves had been known from remote 

 antiquity, and notices of them occur in "Valguarnera, H Mon- 

 gitore, and other Sicilian historians. The botanist Cupani 

 had figured and identified some of the bones. The author's 

 investigations had been directed to the caverns near Palermo 

 and Carini. At Palermo the littoral Pliocene plain, celebrated 

 for its richness as the ' Concha d'Oro,' or shell of gold, is 

 from a mile to 1^ mile broad, and where it abuts against the 

 Hippurite-rocks is from 180 to 200 feet above the level of 

 the sea. The ancient Pliocene sea-margin is very distinctly 

 seen at this elevation all round the bay, and the ossiferous 

 caverns chiefly occur at from 30 to 50 feet above this level. 



1 This communication was made by is reprinted from the abstract which 

 Dr. Falconer to the Geological Society appeared in the ' Quarterly Journal ' of 

 on May 4th and June 22nd, 1859, and the Society for May, I860.— [Ed.] 



