

OSSIFEROUS CAVES OF SICILY. 545 



and found, as a general rule, that Hippopotamus bones pre- 

 ponderated in a similar proportion. De Christol had counted 

 about 300 astragali alone of this genus ; and Abbe Scina had 

 collected, for the Museum of Palermo, 76 astragali of Hippo- 

 potamus, 40 of which belonged to the right side and 86 to 

 the left. The bone-breccia is chiefly composed of bones of 

 Hippopotamus, and extends on either side outside the cave to 

 a length of about 85 yards. Assuming the above ratio of 

 astragali to the other bones as a standard for an approxima- 

 tive estimate of the number of the skeletons inside and out- 

 side the cavern, the author showed what a vast number of 

 individuals it implied. He considered that they were accu- 

 mulations of a long series of generations. A lively discussion 

 having arisen in Sicily as to the origin of these bones, in 

 which Ferrara maintained the opinion that they consisted of 

 the skeletons of Elephants captured by Metellus from Has- 

 drubal 504 years before the Christian era, and of Hippopotami 

 imported by the Saracen rulers of Sicily during the Middle 

 Ages, the government undertook an exploration of the cavern. 

 A deep trench was dug longitudinally into the cavern ; and 

 the bone-breccia was quarried out, along a considerable ex- 

 tent, down to the floor of the cavern. Some very interesting 

 phenomena were disclosed. The eastern wall (left, on enter- 

 ing) was found to be smoothly polished to a height of 18 feet, 

 the lower 8 feet of which formed a band thickly drilled with 

 Pholad-borings. The holes were filled with matrix of the 

 bone-breccia, and they were greatly reduced in depth by the 

 grinding action which had produced the polished surface. 

 The opposite wall of the cavern was equally polished to the 

 same height, but free from borings. 



The walls above the polished band and the roof were 

 rugged and cancellar, with but a very sparing exhibition of 

 stalagmite on the latter. The author had identified from 

 San Ciro two species of Hippopotamus, 1 Elephas antiquus, Sus, 

 Bos, Cervus, TJrsus, Canis, and a large species of Fells. Ele- 

 phas antiquus elsewhere indicates the newer Pliocene age. 



Another cave, hitherto undescribed, called the ' Grotta di 

 Maccagnone,' about a mile to the westward of Carini, was 

 lately the special subject of the author's research. It is 

 nowhere noticed by the Sicilian historians. Dr. Falconer's 

 attention had been directed in that quarter by J. Morrison, 

 Esq., a resident merchant of Palermo, who had many years 

 ago procured fossil bones from the neighbourhood of Carini, 



1 Extract from Author's Note-book. — ■ I Pentlandi, but the large inferior canine 

 ' Naples, Jan. 29, 1859. The Hippopo- is certainly of another species, and ap- 

 tamus bones from Sicily are of two , parent ly of H. major.' — [Ed.] 

 species, the great majority being of H. \ 

 VOL. II. N N 



