72 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



also quantities of llva-na dung occurred. Occasionally food was scarce, and 

 then even old Bear bones were gnawed at. As a rule there was such a wealth 

 of food that hundreds of Reindeer bones remained untouched. 



This will enable us to form some idea of the state of Ireland at those remote 

 times. The total absence of any remains of lied Deer, Wild Boar, Badger, 

 and other animals has already been commented upon, and may possibly 

 be due to the nature of the ground surrounding the cave. There is, 

 moreover, no reason to suppose that any human beings ever lived in the 

 cave. No trace of the existence of man. while the cave deposits were laid 

 down, has been discovered. Only a few quite modern implements, bits of 

 charcoal, and an incised bone were met with, mostly due to pitfalls from the 

 fields above the cave. 



