PLEISTOCENE CAVE-DEPOSITS. 103 



other side being roughly chipped so as to obtain a more or less 

 sharp edge. Along with these occurred pointed implements 

 made of reindeer-horn, which are supposed to be javelin-heads. 



The animal-remains include those of mammoth, rhinoceros, 

 horse, common stag, urus, aurochs, reindeer, chamois, great cave- 

 bear, grisly bear, fox, wolf, lion, hyeena. Kemains of the cave- 

 bear were most abundant. 



The old floors which have yielded all this debris of ancient 

 life were separated from each other by deposits of stratified 

 loamy silt, pointing to times of flood when the river swelled 

 above its normal level and filled the caves with muddy water, 

 from which a deposition of fine silt took place. Three floors 

 separated by intervening accumulations of silt and mud were 

 observed in this cave — all of them being referred by M. Dupont 

 to the Mammoth period. Immediately overlying these older 

 deposits were found flint implements, with bones of the reindeer, 

 horse, wild -boar, roebuck, goat, 1 badger, fox, dog, and hare. 

 This accumulation is assigned to the Eeindeer period. The bones 

 were scattered about the floor of the cave, 2 and were covered 

 over by an accumulation of yellow clay containing many stones 

 and blocks. 



Above the yellow clay comes a loose debris of stones which 

 have tumbled and rolled down from time to time. Amongst 

 these have been detected polished stone implements and frag- 

 ments of pottery, along with the bones of ox and badger. The 



1 The goat is frequently mentioned by Dupont as occurring in the caves of 

 Belgium. Other osteologists have doubted this determination — the goat never 

 having been obtained in the Pleistocene deposits of France or England. Mr. 

 Tiddeman, however, records it from the lower cave-earth of Victoria Cave, York- 

 shire, in close proximity to Elephas antiquus. 



2 At one place opposite the principal entrance to the cave occurred a heap of 

 bones belonging to several small mammifers, birds, batrachians, and freshwater 

 fish. These M. Dupont also assigns to the Reindeer period, and the presence of 

 lemming, lagomys, and Arctic fox seems in favour of this view. Many of the 

 other bones belong to burrowing species, such as mole, field-rat, field-mouse, etc. 

 There is some difficulty in accounting for such a miscellaneous collection. No 

 flint implements and no remains of those animals which formed the food of the 

 folk who occupied the Trou du Sureau in Palaeolithic times, occur in the heap, 

 which therefore probably does not owe its origin to man. 



