On a Bone Gave at Lower Warburton. 37l 



roof fell in, and thus precluded further research. I had not 

 an opportunity of visiting it before this catastrophe took 

 place, so that my own personal observations are confined to 

 an examination of the remains in the Montrose Museum, 

 and of the debris still scattered about the entrance of the 

 cave. 



Mr Bryson's idea was, that the shells in the inner cave 

 had accumulated there when the land was at a lower level, 

 and when, in consequence, the sea had access to it — that 

 then a partial elevation took place, when the North Esk 

 flowed past the bottom of the cliff, and carried in by an eddy 

 the bones and other materials which blocked up the outer 

 cave. It is unnecessary to combat Mr Bryson's views, the 

 more so that I believe no one is now more convinced of their 

 fallacy than himself. Mr Beattie again adopted the opinion 

 that this had been a hyena cave like that of Kirkdale ; and 

 it was the promulgation of this theory, so utterly incom- 

 patible with the character of the bones, which caused his 

 otherwise important communication to the Aberdeen meet- 

 ing to be overlooked. 



My first visit to the cave was made in company with Mr 

 Beattie, and the shrewd tenant of the farm, Mr Walker, 

 who had ere then utilised the bulk of the debris as top- 

 dressing. Mr Walker was unacquainted with Dr Buckland's 

 discoveries, but expressed his own opinion, that this collec- 

 tion of bones and shells was nothing more than a " midden." 

 Though I was not then aware of the discoveries made in 

 Denmark by Steenstrup, Forchhammer, and Worsoee, on the 

 Kjokken-moddings, I could not help admitting that Mr 

 Walker's humble theory was more tenable than either of 

 those formerly alluded to. When I read the able article by 

 Sir John Lubbock, in the " National History Beview" for 

 October 1861, on the Danish Kjokken-moddings, the true 

 history of the Warburton case appeared to me at once ex- 

 plained ; and in the following summer, when I had an 

 opportunity of inspecting the collections from the Kjokken- 

 moddings, preserved in the Copenhagen Museum, I was 

 still more convinced that the contents of the cave must 



