Explorations in the Bone Cave of Ballynamintra. 223 
colour and markings on all its bones bespeak an earlier time. The cessation of 
calcareous matter, however, shows that the old lines of drainage had ceased to 
yield their carbonate of lime. This change was accompanied by a marked 
alteration in the colour and species of the animal remains as well as in the character 
of the implements. Yellow bones of existing species supplant the blackened 
remains of Irish elk and bear marked with dendritis. We now find for the 
first time remains of horse and dog, while bones and teeth of ox and goat 
(very scarce in the grey earth) are now abundant; pig occurs as frequently as 
before ; hare becomes scarcer; and red deer much less common; while in the 
remains of fox and rabbit there is a great increase. Articles of human use belonging 
to this division of our record show that man had made considerable advance in 
fashioning his implements. Hammer-stones chipped at the edges become scarce. 
The polished celt, the arrow-like bone, and the other objects, show care and precision 
in their formation, while the amber bead found near the celt may, as we are told 
by a distinguished authority, Dr. Evans, have belonged to any period from the 
bronze age downards. The knife-handle, he adds, is probably of what in England 
would be the Saxon period. The latter object, as well as the beautifully-pointed 
bone chisel, had unfortunately got into rock crevices, but (unless some traces of calc 
tufa on the chisel mark it as of greater antiquity) we might judge from their colour 
and workmanship that both these articles belonged to the time of the brown earth. 
Sixth Period.—The cave abandoned by man becomes the resort of rabbits and foxes. 
The accumulation of the brown earth continued until little of the cavity was 
visible. Man no longer resorting to such a refuge, or not finding any longer suffi- 
cient room there, abandoned it ; whereupon it was taken possession of by the fox 
and the rabbit. Their recent remains and burrows found in the earthy accumu- 
lations of the inner cavity show that it was their special retreat. 
Conclusion. 
The Shandon and Ballynamintra caverns, occurring in the same valley and within 
a few miles of each other, have established important facts in relation to the post- 
pliocene history of Ireland. The former disclosed evidence of the presence in the 
southern portion of this island of the mammoth, horse, reindeer, and bear, and the 
latter has established the contemporaniety of man with the Irish elk and bear. It 
is seldom that such limited cave-explorations have been more amply rewarded. 
The Shandon cave, discovered by mere accident, has been the means of instigating 
a desire for further researches in the rock cavities on the “scars” along the Dun- 
garvan valley. The first explored is the subject of the foregoing pages, and others 
equally if not more productive may await the labours of the cave-hunter. 
