Hardman — On tiro new Beposii^^f JSu'nian Bones. 175 



to their present position by water; and that this will quite account for 

 such a disproportionate quantity of irtfants' and small bones, because 

 naturally we should expect that the smallest, and, therefore, the 

 lightest bones, would be brought down in largest quantity. 



As a proof of the possthility of such upper chambers existing, I 

 shall cite the case of the "Fairies' Floor," which Kes to the north of 

 the " Market Cross" chamber, but some twenty feet below it. These 

 are connected by a fissure now nearly closed up, and the water has 

 brought down a large quantity of silt and debris, covered with stalag- 

 mite, in every respect similar to the bone localities. (See Sketch, 

 fig. 5.) "When this is explored, I expect it will also yield bones. 



The manner in which I have endeavoured to account for the bone 

 deposits of this place is in accordance with SchmerUng's and Lyell's 

 doctrine,* that cave-earth, bone-breccias, &c., are produced by the 

 sweeping into caves or fissures, by subterranean streams, of quantities of 

 animal remains, together with fine clay and sand. There can be no 

 doubt that some at least of these bones form part of a stratified deposit; 

 but whence they came, or to what period they belong, are points which 

 must be reserved, until fiu'ther examination is made of the Cave ; 

 this I hope to be enabled to do this Summer. 



The presence of the bones of such domesticated animals as the 

 sheep, pig, and ox, especially the first, while it certainly precludes the 

 reference of the human remains to a very remote antiquity, in a 

 geological sense, yet allows of the idea that they may belong to the 

 Stone or Bronze Ages. Sheep bones have been found along with 

 bronze implements in Danish peat bogs ;f also in a pre-historic bury- 

 ing-place, or cist, at Pickering, England,]: in company with a stone 

 spear-head, and piece of pottery ; and are frequently met with in the 

 Swiss lake-dwellings of the later Stone period, § as well as a small 

 race of pig. (It may be mentioned here that the pig bones found at 

 Dunmore are either very young, or belong to a small species.) In 

 Ireland itself, in the Crannoge of Lagore, bones of sheep, goats, oxen, 

 swine, &c., were found associated with antiquities of Stone, Bronze, 

 and Iron Ages, under sixteen feet of bog.|| 



jSTo flint implements, works of art, or articles of domestic use have 

 yet been found in Dunmore Cave, but this may be simply because they 

 have not been searched for. Mr. Graves told me he had not looked for 

 any ; and although Mr. Smith and I kept a look-out for anything of 

 that kind, our time was too short to do more than lay the gi'ound- 

 work for future explorations; and as the bones occurred so plentifiTlly, 

 they kept our attention fully occupied. On the other hand, were these 



* Principles of Geology, Vol. II., p. 521, 10th Ed. Also Antiquity of Man. 



t Antiquity of Man, LyeU (1863), p. 15. 



X Pre-liistoric Times, Lubbock ; Tables of Primary Interments, p. 97. 



§ LyeU, op. cit., p. 25, ct seq. Also Lubbock, op. cit. p. 143. 



II Lyell, 02). cit., p. 30. 



