372 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



have been accumulated by man under similar circum- 

 stances. 



The cave, ever since I knew it, has been completely closed 

 up by a large mass of rock several tons weight ; but around 

 the entrance, the soil still abounds in fragments of bones, 

 shells, wood-ashes, &c. 



Fortunately Mr Beattie preserved, in the Montrose Mu- 

 seum, a considerable quantity of the debris at the time the 

 cave was open, and a study of this, as well as of the frag- 

 ments since picked up by myself, will, I think, bear me out 

 in my interpretation of its history. It will be observed that 

 Mr Bryson and Mr Beattie both, unintentionally as it were, 

 give evidence in favour of the human theory, and against 

 their own. Mr Bryson refers to the arrangement, or " strati- 

 fication" as he calls it, of the different kinds of materials; 

 to the bone of an ox, which " bore evident traces of being 

 sawn or ground flat," and to " an amulet formed rudely of 

 the leg bone of an ox." Mr Beattie again states, that " this 

 extraordinary deposit of shells contained no admixture of 

 sand or earthy matter, but lay pure and clean as if heaped 

 together by human agency. The following list comprehends 

 most of the animal remains preserved, viz. : — Shells of 

 Mytilus edulis, Cardium edule, Litorina littorea, Buccinum 

 undatum, Fusus antiquus, Patella vulgata, Helix nemoralis ; 

 fragments of the claws of Cancer pagurus ; leg bones and 

 bills of Sula bassana ; bones of Cervus elephus, Cervus 



capreolus, $us , Erinaceus europeus, Bos , Felis 



catus, Cams familiaris, Canis vulpes, Hypudoeus , Mus (?) 



; and a portion of a human parietal bone and radius. 



The shells of the mollusca are all of large individuals, 

 particularly those of Patella vulgata. At the present time 

 the beach nearest the cave is either shingly or flat and 

 sandy, and it is not till you go several miles north or south 

 that you come to the habitat of the marine species above 

 mentioned. The same remark applies to the edible crab, 

 which does not live within two miles of the cave. 



The frequency of the bones of the solan goose is remarkable. 

 This bird only visits these shores in summer, when it is often 



