ON THE CAE GWYN CAVE. 115 



cave must have been of a violent nature," and infers " that during 

 a period of great submergence either during, or subsequent to, the 

 glacial epoch, the material was introduced by marine action." He 

 quotes Dr. Evans's opinion that the flint flakes found in the lower 

 caves were " of the type of the wrought flakes found in Kent's 

 Cavern." A list of the animals whose bones were discovered is 

 given on the authority of Mr. Davies. 



These views were more fully set forth in a paper read before the 

 Geological Society, in November 1885 *, in the discussion on which 

 Dr. Evans and Professor Boyd Dawkins expressed their doubt as to 

 the author's conclusions respecting the evidence of marine action in 

 the caves. 



Dr. Hicks communicated the results of some further excavations 

 in a short note which appeared in ' Nature,' July 1886 f, in antici- 

 pation of the full report which he drew up for the British Asso- 

 ciation meeting at Birmingham :^ in the September following. In 

 these papers he describes what he considered to be the " abrupt 

 termination" of the cave "in a plateau of glacial deposits" at what 

 must have been the main entrance into the cavern when it was 

 occupied by the Pleistocene animals, and states his belief that 

 " the glacial beds in and upon it must have been deposited subse- 

 quent to the occupation by the animals," and " that the contents 

 of the cavern must have been washed out by marine action in 

 midglacial time, and that they were afterwards covered by marine 

 sands and by an upper Boulder-clay." He further notices that 

 " within the entrance there was a greater thickness of sand, less of 

 laminated clay, and more bone-earth than in other parts of the 

 cavern," and that the bone-earth seemed " to diminish in thickness 

 rather rapidly outwards under the glacial deposits." He also brought 

 the matter under discussion in Section H §. 



At the same meeting || I pointed out the distinction between the 

 land-ice drift of the Western Mountains and the Marine Drift, 

 which I considered to be of much later date and due to the destruc- 

 tion of the older glacial beds ; and then ofl'ered reasons for be- 

 lieving that none of the bone-deposits yet found could be referred 

 to as early an age as even the marine drift. 



I communicated the substance of this paper to the ' Geological 



* " Kesults of recent Researches in some Bone-cares in North Wales (Ffynnon 

 Beuno and Cae Gwyn)," by Henry Hicks, M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., with a Note 

 on the Animal Remains, by W. Daries, F.G.S., Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. Feb. 

 1886, vol. xlii. p. 3 ; Reported in abstract, Geol. Mag. Jan. 1886, dec. 3, vol. iii. 

 p. 39. 



t " Evidence of Man and Pleistocene Animals in North Wales prior to 

 Glacial Deposits," ' Nature,' vol. xxxiv. 1886, p. 216. 



I " Report of the Committee appointed lor the purpose of exploring the 

 Caves of N. Wales,", drawn up by Dr. Hicks, Secretary. Brit. Assoc. Rep. 

 Birmingham, Sept. 1886, p. 219. 



§ "Evidence of Preglacial Man in North Wales," Brit. Assoc. Rep. Birm- 

 ingham, 1886, Trans. Sect. H, p. 839. 



II " On the Pleistocene Deposits of the Vale of Clwyd," Brit. Assoc. Rep, 

 1886, Trans. Sect. C, p. 632 ; Notices of ditto, Geol. Mag. Nov. 1886, dec. 3, 

 vol. iii. p. 609. 



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