239 



" From the village of Sferra Cavallo, at the western extremity of 

 the valley of Palermo, the road leads round a cape into another 

 smaller plain, but in many respects similar to that of Palermo, 

 bounded by the Mediterranean towards the N.W. and on the land side 

 by a semicircular range of high calcareous mountains. 



" At the bottom of this valley, and on a rock rising to a considerable 

 elevation, stand the ancient town and castle of Carini. Looking 

 down from the castle in the direction of the sea, there is seen near the 

 foot of the range of mountains, on the western side, a line strongly 

 marked, indicating the limit at some former period of the sea ; judg- 

 ing by the eye, this line is on the same level with that of the caves of 

 Santo Ciro and Belenic in the adjoining valley of Palermo. 



" In several places along this supposed watermark are found large 

 quantities of bones ; yet a fact so interesting, although known for 

 many months, appears to have excited no attention either on the part 

 of the curious or of the learned. 



" At one point there is a large cave filled to the depth of ten or 

 twelve feet with a dark soil mixed with bones much broken, and 

 which in the course of this year have almost all been picked out 

 and sold with modern bones for exportation to France. It would be 

 impossible now to ascertain how these lay, and what state they were 

 in previous to being disturbed ; they appear to have been much less 

 petrified than those of which mention is made hereafter, although 

 from their similarity it may be safely assumed that they are of the 

 same date. 



" At another point, but exposed to the weather and covered merely 

 bv a little earth and fragments of rock fallen from the overhanging 

 mountain, were found the remains that accompany the present ; these 

 and some hundredweight more were all taken up from a space nol 

 more than six or eight feet square, and chiefly from under one frag- 

 ment of rock, and it is more than probable that under the superinten- 

 dence of one at all versed in these matters, the whole skeleton of the 

 animal to which the head and larger bones belong might have been 

 obtained." 



