4i8 Blackburn : Molhisca taken from British Barrows. 



Acicula lineata has been taken of late years at Tibthorpe, 

 and it can be reasonably expected to be found at Garton Slack, 

 although I do not know of any such recorded find. The other 

 species are found pretty generally throughout the Wold District. 



Mr. T. Sheppard, who suggested the compilation of the hst, 

 has supplied the names and localities of the barrows. 



Commenting on the finds, Mr. Sheppard says : — ' Whilst 

 it is possible that some of the specimens may have been incor- 

 porated in the graves in comparatively modern times, it can 

 be taken that the greater part were undoubtedly interred, 

 most probably accidentally, during the construction of the 

 barrows, i.e., during the Bronze Age. The positions in which 

 some were found were such that in Mr. Mortimer's opinion, 

 they must have been contemporaneous with the burials.' 



Mr. Clement Reid, in his Blashenwall article, considers that 

 it is probably a mistake to think that land snails are not of 

 much account in fixing the age of deposits. He considers that 

 by examination of land shells abundant in the barrows, the date 

 of their introduction by man may be arrived at, and that they 

 may be used for fixing the date of other antiquities of doubtful 

 age. 



Whilst giving all due weight to the opinions of those who 

 have made a life study of the barrows, I am somewhat sceptical 

 as to the value of land snails as a means of fixing dates, and am 

 not yet convinced that we can absolutely say the shells are 

 contemporaneous with the human remains. All conchologists 

 know how strangely helices manage to insinuate themselves in 

 all kinds of unlikely places. The presence of the great burrower 

 Caecilianella acicula (in Barrows Nos. 65 and 140) , would point in 

 the other direction, viz., that possibly the shells have got in the 

 barrows in other ways. 



On the other hand, one cannot overlook the fact that 

 helices, when kept from exposure to air, preserve their colour 

 and texture indefinitely. Semi-fossil helices also seem to differ 

 little in appearance from recent ones which have been exposed 

 to the air and weather for a long period. These facts would go 

 towards confirming the view that the shells and human remains 

 are of the same date. Much needs yet to ba done before these 

 points are settled, and one can devoutly hope that someone 

 with the necessary time and opportunity, will gather together 

 the facts needed to give more conclusive evidence on these 

 various points. 



Naturalist. 



