192 Explorations in the Bone Cave of Ballynamintra. 
of the blocks protruding into the upper strata close to the surface near the entrance. 
Where this break-up had taken place, as shown in cross-sections A, B, and C, the 
cave is wider and the right wall overhangs, so that it could have afforded no side- 
support to the stalagmite floor, while in cross-sections D and E the reverse of 
this is shown to be the case. The blocks of stalagmite showed evident traces of 
separation from the portion of the floor that was still zn situ, for they were 
cuboidal, and had lines of stratification. Many of them were very large; one, for 
instance, measuring 3 ft. 6 in. by 3 ft. by 1ft. Though sometimes tilted in a slanting 
position, they were not heaped together, but strewed the whole area where they 
lay, and no marks of rolling appeared on them. This shows that whatever agency 
had broken up the stalagmite floor had not removed it when broken. Several 
large cones, like sugar-loaves, besides bosses and columns partially covered with 
crystals were found, all broken off and lying among the rest of the broken floor, 
but only one stalactite was met with, which was eighteen inches long, and in three 
pieces that lay close together. It is remarkable that no stalactites, nor even 
traces of their roots, should have been found on the roof of the cave, except some 
that are plainly recent on the roof of the chamber to the left, shown in cross- 
section F. The blocks were strewn through the space between the flanking walls 
outside the entrance, and were very abundant at seven feet from it (see cross- 
section A), where the surface was highest, some occurring just under the upper 
stratum. They continued to occur out as far as twenty feet where they were 
associated with blocks of consolidated gravel. 
From two feet to six feet inside the cave’s mouth a mass of the stalagmite floor, 
that was no doubt broken off and disconnected from the rest, was found to contain 
in its lower portion, next the gravel (some of which was cemented to it), jaws and 
other bones of a large bear. They appear to have been deposited in the flesh, as 
adjoining bones of the skeleton were found together. Near them was also 
embedded in the stalagmite a metacarpal bone of deer with characters of reindeer. 
In another mass of the same material were three or four molar teeth of red deer. 
With the exception of some bones of frog, the above were all the animal remains 
yielded by this stratum, which contained no trace of man. In the unbroken portion 
of the floor, from twelve feet inwards, no animal remains whatever were found. 
Within the cave’s mouth, from two feet inwards along the left wall, was a bench 
of stalagmite obviously in its original place (see cross-section C), yet it separated 
freely into blocks which had the pale sandy earth between them, while charcoal 
was in one place found in its interstices on a level with the charcoal seam in the 
grey earth close by. Water seems to have run behind this stalagmite bench, as, 
on its removal, were found behind it water-worn crevices in the rock leading 
down to a small empty swallow-hole that emitted a draft. In a recess of 
the rock covered by this stalagmite mass were a bone knife-handle (Plate XIIL., 
figs. 1, 14), and a rude celt with some small bones of bear, but as this recess was 
