POULTON : DOWKERBOTTOM CAVE. 
from the contents. In fact I cleared out the latter, finding many 
interesting- specimens, and the walls of the pit remained firm until 
it was necessary to destroy it in further work. The pit is dug" in 
soft stalagmite and the sides exhibited cracks which did not 
extend into the contents. The stalagmite is stained dark by the 
blackish earth which is the chief part of the contents. This earth 
was mixed with soft stalagmite, and lumps of limestone generally 
covered by hard stalagmite. The color of the whole contents 
was greyish. In addition to the above proofs that the pit was of 
ancient formation, the remains found also pointed to this conclu- 
sion. The bones and ornaments were frequently incrusted 
with stalagmite, and evidently in the position they occupied when 
thrown into the pit. Three small bronze pins were found in the 
pit and they were all close together, and were found within a few 
minutes of one another, although the examination of the whole 
contents occupied three or four days. The pit may have been dug 
for rubbish and some useful and ornamental objects may have 
dropped in accidentally, as is generally found to be the case in 
ancient rubbish heaps. Half of a broken spindle whorl of Samian 
ware was found in the pit. The article itself was an instance 
of the utilization of rubbish, being roughly made out of a 
broken fragment of pottery ground into a rude disc by rubbing 
on a stone, and pierced in the centre. After the breakage, half 
the spindle whorl was thrown into the pit as being of no further 
use. One small piece of flint was found near the pit in a greyish 
layer of the same age as the black earth. It may be an instance 
of the survival of an ancient form of implement. It appears to 
be a broken flake and shews distinct signs of working. Among 
the curiosities of these upper layers is an old-fashioned, but not 
ancient pin with the head formed in the old way. Very many 
rubbed and cut bones were found, probably some were used as 
handles, others as knives, while others again appear to be small 
pegs or perhaps rough pins. By far the most interesting imple- 
ment of bone was the bowl end of a spoon-shaped fibula, pierced 
