UPHILL BONE-CAVES. 
157 
clay partings. At the west end of the quarry the beds dip at 
20° N. 40° E. ; in the middle of the quarry the dip is 18° and at 
the south end 15°. The limestone is a good deal honeycombed 
by cavities, and some of these are sufficiently large to merit 
the name of caves, the largest being the one at the north end 
of the quarry which was described in the Somersetshire his- 
tories, and which is now used as a storehouse of blasting 
material. 
The caves examined by Mr. Wilson are situated about half- 
way down the chief quarry face, perhaps some fifty feet from 
the top of the chfi. They he at three or four different horizons, 
but there are two principal ones which may be called the 
upper and lower caves. All these caves are irregular, low- 
roofed cavities, roughly following the bedding planes, and 
clearly owing their origin to the action of water. The position 
of the principal ones was apparently determined by the occur- 
rence of narrow partings of purple and green marl. They 
extend for varying but sometimes considerable distances into 
the face of the cliff, and contain irregular deposits of cave 
earth which vary much in thickness in short distances. At 
one point the floor showed the following section : — 
ft. in. 
4. Deep purplish-red soft sandy marl containing blocks of 
limestone . . . . . . . . .40 
3. Greenish yellow soft sandy marl . . . . .12 
2. Greenish drab argillaceous sandstone with sparry calcite 
seams . . . . . . . . .56 
1. Carboniferous limestone floor . . . . . — 
The greenish marl (3) whose material may perhaps partially 
be derived from the original clay parting of the Hmestone 
varies considerably in thickness in different parts of the cave, 
and is frequently brecciated and occasionally tufaceous. It 
is in this bed that most of the organic remains— bones, teeth, 
and coproHtes have been found. In places, owing to the 
irregularity of the floor of the cave, the top layer of red marl 
