(90 ) [Jan., 



2. AECH^OLOGY (Pre-historic), 



And Notices of Recent Archaeological Works. 



In vol. v. (No. xx.), p. 546, Oct. 1868, we gave a short account 

 of the meeting of the International Congress of Pre-historic Archae- 

 ology at Norwich. The papers read at that meeting have since 

 been published, and now form a handsome volume, well illus- 

 trated by fifty-three plates and numerous woodcuts.* It would 

 be difficult to estimate the relative value of the contents of this 

 volume, but one paper which, to us, appears a singularly im- 

 portant communication is by Mr. George Busk, " On the Caves of 

 Gibraltar in which Human Remains and Works of Art have been 

 found." This contribution, which is illustrated by twelve plates, 

 maps, and plans, contains the most complete record yet published 

 of those interesting limestone caves and fissures for which the 

 Rock cf Gibraltar is celebrated, but which, till lately, only served 

 to gratify curiosity, or, by their illumination, to eke out the scanty 

 amusements of an almost isolated garrison. 



It was to the investigation of these caverns that the last efforts of 

 the late Dr. Hugh Falconer's life were directed, in conjunction with 

 Mr. Busk, the work being carried out upon the spot by Captain 

 Frederic Brome, late governor of the military prison at Gibraltar, 

 whose unwearied labours during the last five or six years have been 

 devoted to their exploration. 



The rocky peninsula of Gibraltar is a detached promontory, 

 composed principally of limestone, about three miles long and three- 

 quarters of a mile in its greatest width, and lies nearly due north 

 and south. The lower portion of the western side spreads out so 

 as to form an irregular sloping surface, here and there interrupted 

 by longitudinal cliffs and ravines, upon the gentle declivities of 

 which the principal part of the town of Gibraltar is built. 



The eastern face, on the contrary, is a nearly perpendicular 

 escarpment of limestone rock rising up at ' Wolf's Crag,' or ' North 

 Front,' in a cliff 1250 feet high; at the ' Signal Station,' or 

 < Middle Hill,' 1255 feet; and at 'Sugar-loaf Hill,' on which 

 O'Hara's Tower stands, it rises to a height of 1408 feet above the 

 sea. A broad plain extends beneath ' Sugar-loaf Hill ' to the south, 

 called ' Windmill Hill Flats,' whilst at a still lower level ' Europa 

 Flats' form the southern termination of the promontory. The 

 mass of the rock consists of a Secondary Limestone of Jurassic age, 



* 'International Congress of Pre-historic Archaeology: Transactions of the 

 Third Session, opened at Norwich, 20th August, and closed in London, 28th August, 

 1868.' London : Longmans, Green, & Co. 1869. 8vo. Pp.419. Illustrated with 

 numerous plates and woodcuts. 



