WILD OX AND ITS EXTERMINATION 57 
Apart from its greatly superior size, heavy mane, 
throat-fringe, and the light line along the back, the 
Polish aurochs would seem to have approximated in 
general appearance to the modern black Pembroke 
cattle, which are known to be an ancient breed, and 
carry forwardly-directed horns, black at and near 
the tips, but elsewhere whitish horn-colour. The 
colour of the hair was, however, in the opinion of 
Dr. Hilzheimer, blackish brown rather than jet 
black. 
Reverting to Grseco-Roman times, it has to be 
mentioned that the accounts of conflicts with gigantic 
oxen to be met with in classical literature doubtless 
refer to the aurochs, and thus confirm the evidence 
afforded by skulls of the former existence of the 
species in Italy, and likewise indicate that its range 
also extended into Greece. 
In this connection reference may be made to a 
very beautiful coloured mosaic pavement from a 
Roman villa brought to England about the year 
1780, and now forming part of the floor of the 
sculpture-gallery at the Duke of Bedford's seat at 
Woburn. The central panel of this pavement re- 
presents a group of animals in colours, namely, a bull 
on the left, a tiger on the right, a serpent in the 
middle, and above them a couple of red-legged 
partridges, the last, with the exception of the legs, 
being coloured fairly true to nature. From its 
massive build, and close resemblance in general form 
to the Roman statuettes referred to above,^ there 
seems every reason to believe that the bull depicted 
in this pavement represents a wild aurochs, although 
the horns are relatively short. If this be so, it is 
1 Stipra, p. 38. 
