a 3Bone Cave at Malton, near Clevebon. 
By Sidney H. Reynolds, M.A., F.G.S. 
T he ridge of high ground running from Portishead to Clevedon 
is composed as regards its seaward portion of Old Red Sand- 
stone overlain unconformably by Dolomitic Conglomerate, while its 
landward portion consists of Carboniferous limestone in which several 
quarries have been opened. Two of these lie one on either side of 
Holl lane which leaves the main Portishead and Clevedon road 
below Walton Castle. The horizon exposed is the Caninia oolite of 
Dr. Vaughan’s nomenclature. 
In the western quarry the rock is quarried for lime- burning, in 
the eastern quarry a thick series of superficial deposits is banked up 
against the hillside which here is decidedly steeply inclined. The 
thickness of these superficial deposits is variable, but sometimes as 
much as 20 ft. They are described by Mr. H. N. Davies, F.G.S., 
in a communication appended to this paper. In places they contain 
numerous shells of a small snail, Hygromia hispida Linn., and a few 
of Snccinea putris, Linn. These were identified for Dr. Male by 
Mr. A. S. Kennard. Very numerous teeth, jaws, and limb-bones 
of small rodents also occur in the superficial deposits. The quarry- 
ing of the superficial material for gravel led, during the latter part 
of 1905, to the discovery of a small cave, measuring about eightjsen 
feet in width by eight in height and ten in depth. This cave was 
full of a highly ossiferous cave-earth, and similar material was banked 
up against the slope of the cliff round the mouth of the cave. 
The finding of these bones was first noted by Mr. G. E. Male, of 
Clevedon, who with his brother, Dr. H. C. Male, collected a large 
series, many of which are now in the Jermyn Street Museum. 
But before Mr. Male learnt of the existence of the cave several 
cart-loads of bones were put upon the new light railway between 
Clevedon and Portishead. 
Having obtained peianission from Messrs. J. Coles and Son, the 
lessees of the quarry, I commenced in January, 1906, to work the 
deposit on behalf of the Bristol Museum, and some 500 specimens 
were obtained, which are now preserved in that institution. These, 
however, hardly represent a tithe of those which actually occurred, 
as in addition to those destroyed before Mr. Male’s first visit, great 
numbers have been taken away by local collectors. 
When I first visited the cave its major portion had already been 
cleared of cave-earth to within 20 ins. of the bottom. The bones 
obtained by me were found in ; — 
(1) The 20 in. of cave-earth on the floor of the save. 
(2) A mass banked up against the limestone and blocking a 
fissure on the right side of the cave. 
(3) A mass filling up the left side of the cave and banked up 
against the limestone to the left of its mouth. 
The following is a list of the species found by various collectors 
in the W'alton cave. Mr. E. T. Newton, F.R.S., has most kindly 
