OSSIFEROUS CAVES OP GIBRALTAR. 559 



direct, between the two continents, at no very remote period, 

 somewhere within the Mediterranean area. To arrive at any 

 further evidence bearing upon this very important question, 

 from the rock of Gibraltar, becomes an object of the highest 

 general and scientific interest. 



Human remains were found in great abundance in the 

 upper chambers. They appear to have belonged to between 

 thirty and forty individuals. They were accompanied by 

 stone implements of the polished-stone period, broken querns, 

 a large quantity of pottery, marine shells of edible species, 

 and some other objects enumerated in Capt. Brome's Report. 

 No way of access from the surface by which these materials 

 could have been introduced has been discovered ; but, on 

 carefully examining the ground, we believe, with Capt. 

 Brome, that the entrance was somewhere under the southern 

 half of the east wall of the prison-enclosure. Until the 

 aperture from the surface is discovered, no certain conclusion 

 can be arrived at. Considering the time and labour which 

 have been expended on the cavern, it would be a subject of 

 great regret if the exploration were left incomplete on this 

 important point. We would therefore venture strongly to 

 recommend that the excavations be continued through the 

 ground over which the east wall runs, until the external 

 aperture is detected. We believe that it will be found in the 

 fissure outside the east wall, which Capt. Brome has so 

 sagaciously and perseveringly explored. 



The human bones are of high interest in consequence of 

 certain peculiar characters which many of them present. 

 They appear to belong to widely different epochs, although 

 none of them perhaps of very high antiquity (i.e. before the 

 historical period). That the upper chambers of the cave 

 were ever inhabited by savage man we consider to be highly 

 improbable. It seems more likely that they were used as 

 places of deposit for the dead. 



As regards the final disposal of the interesting and import- 

 ant relics discovered in the ' Genista ' Cave, a complete series 

 ought to be deposited in London, either in the British Museum 

 or in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. But we 

 consider it to be of still higher importance that a collection 

 should be retained for Gibraltar. In the progress of the vast 

 defensive works which have been carried on during the past 

 century, in scarping and tunnelling the rock, objects of high 

 interest, relating either to its natural history or archaeology, 

 have been brought to light ; but in the great majority of 

 cases they have either been disregarded or lost. Instances 

 might be cited from Col. James's ' History of the Herculean 

 Straits,' 1771, and from Major Imrie's ' Memoir on the 



