The following are some of the most remarkable specimens:—Fig. 409.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2A round-pointed lanceolate implement, shown on the scale of1⁄2in. Fig. 409. The point is symmetrically chipped, but the original{514}surface of the flint has been left untouched over the greater part of the butt-end, which is roughly cylindrical, and more truncated than is usual with chalk flints, but is well adapted for being held in the hand. This implement has had the pointed end broken off by an irregularly diagonal fracture rather more than half way along it, and the butt-end has subsequently split up lengthways with what may be termed a “faulted” line of fracture; and about a quarter of it has been lost. The fractures are evidently of very ancient date; but what is most remarkable is that the butt-end was found in August, 1858, 3 feet deep in the cave-earth in the Flint Knife Gallery, and the point was not found until nearly a month afterwards, a long distance away in the Pen Gallery, at a depth of 3 feet 6 inches in the same bed. It was not until some time afterwards that it was discovered that the two fragments fitted each other, or that the true character of the implement was seen. In general form it closely resembles one type of the pointed instruments from the Valley-gravels. In fact, it is in all essential points identical with them, and agrees in character with many of the implements from the breccia of Kent’s Cavern—especially with one (No. 7,328) which might have been made by the same hand—while it differs materially in form from the flat ovoid implements from the{515}cave-earth, such as Fig. 386, which, however, also find their analogues in the River-Drift.Another instrument, of an elongated-oval form, has been made from a large flake, or splinter, of flint with an approximately flat inner face, showing strongly the curved and waved lines of conchoidal fracture. It has been shaped by a succession of blows given in such a manner as not to injure the flat face, but to produce a more or less bevelled scraping or cutting edge all round, some parts of which present appearances of wear by use. It is shown in Fig. 410, and, as will be seen, is of much the same character as the implement from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 392, in the description of which the analogy of this type with that of some of the French cave-implements is pointed out.Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2In Fig. 411 is represented an instrument found in the gravel in a fissure in the West Chamber of the cave. It is a fragment of a large broad flake, showing on its convex face a portion of the original crust of the flint. It seems to have been at first of an approximately oval form, but has lost one of its ends by a straight fracture. This end appears to have been broken off in ancient times, after the rest of the instrument had been chipped into shape. A portion of the other end is also wanting, but the fracture in this case must have existed before the completion of the implement, as several flakes have been removed from its convex face, by blows administered on the fractured surface. One side of the flake has been trimmed by chipping, at first boldly and then more minutely, to a segmental bevelled edge, much resembling in character that of some of the large “side-scrapers” from the cave of Le Moustier[2434]in the Dordogne. Instruments of the same character occur occasionally, though rarely, in the ancient River-deposits. There are some traces of use on the edge of this specimen.A remarkably symmetrical scraper was also thought to have come from the Brixham Cave, and is shown full size in Fig. 412. I remarked in publishing it that it closely resembled the scrapers found{516}on the surface of the soil, and that it was exceptionally short for a cave-specimen. A little time after the first edition of this book had appeared, I discovered that this scraper had been found on the surface near the top of Windmill Hill, and had been included with the other specimens by mistake.[2435]It is undoubtedly neolithic.Fig. 412.—Brixham Cave.1⁄1The other implements from the Brixham Cave consist for the most part of flakes and splinters of flint of different sizes, and more or less chipped. One of these,23⁄4inches long, has been chipped or jagged along one edge, apparently by use, while the broad round end is so much worn away as to almost assume the appearance of a “scraper.” Most of them bear decided marks, either on their sides or ends, of having been in use as scraping tools. About half way along one of them is a rounded notch, apparently produced by scraping some cylindrical object; and in connection with this it may be mentioned that a portion of a cylindrical pin, or rod, of ivory was found in the cave, being the only object wrought from an animal substance. A cylindrical piece of ivory about3⁄8inch in diameter was found in the Gorge d’Enfer cavern, and is in the Christy Collection. Some of the splinters of flint are very small, and yet one of them only3⁄4inch by5⁄8inch shows the worn edge resulting from use. An irregular subangular flint pebble somewhat pear-shaped in form has some of its angles much battered, as if by hammering, and has probably served as a hammer-stone, simply held in the hand. Pebbles similarly bruised at the more salient parts have frequently been found in the French caves.
The following are some of the most remarkable specimens:—
Fig. 409.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 409.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
A round-pointed lanceolate implement, shown on the scale of1⁄2in. Fig. 409. The point is symmetrically chipped, but the original{514}surface of the flint has been left untouched over the greater part of the butt-end, which is roughly cylindrical, and more truncated than is usual with chalk flints, but is well adapted for being held in the hand. This implement has had the pointed end broken off by an irregularly diagonal fracture rather more than half way along it, and the butt-end has subsequently split up lengthways with what may be termed a “faulted” line of fracture; and about a quarter of it has been lost. The fractures are evidently of very ancient date; but what is most remarkable is that the butt-end was found in August, 1858, 3 feet deep in the cave-earth in the Flint Knife Gallery, and the point was not found until nearly a month afterwards, a long distance away in the Pen Gallery, at a depth of 3 feet 6 inches in the same bed. It was not until some time afterwards that it was discovered that the two fragments fitted each other, or that the true character of the implement was seen. In general form it closely resembles one type of the pointed instruments from the Valley-gravels. In fact, it is in all essential points identical with them, and agrees in character with many of the implements from the breccia of Kent’s Cavern—especially with one (No. 7,328) which might have been made by the same hand—while it differs materially in form from the flat ovoid implements from the{515}cave-earth, such as Fig. 386, which, however, also find their analogues in the River-Drift.
Another instrument, of an elongated-oval form, has been made from a large flake, or splinter, of flint with an approximately flat inner face, showing strongly the curved and waved lines of conchoidal fracture. It has been shaped by a succession of blows given in such a manner as not to injure the flat face, but to produce a more or less bevelled scraping or cutting edge all round, some parts of which present appearances of wear by use. It is shown in Fig. 410, and, as will be seen, is of much the same character as the implement from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 392, in the description of which the analogy of this type with that of some of the French cave-implements is pointed out.
Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 410.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 411.—Brixham Cave.1⁄2
In Fig. 411 is represented an instrument found in the gravel in a fissure in the West Chamber of the cave. It is a fragment of a large broad flake, showing on its convex face a portion of the original crust of the flint. It seems to have been at first of an approximately oval form, but has lost one of its ends by a straight fracture. This end appears to have been broken off in ancient times, after the rest of the instrument had been chipped into shape. A portion of the other end is also wanting, but the fracture in this case must have existed before the completion of the implement, as several flakes have been removed from its convex face, by blows administered on the fractured surface. One side of the flake has been trimmed by chipping, at first boldly and then more minutely, to a segmental bevelled edge, much resembling in character that of some of the large “side-scrapers” from the cave of Le Moustier[2434]in the Dordogne. Instruments of the same character occur occasionally, though rarely, in the ancient River-deposits. There are some traces of use on the edge of this specimen.
A remarkably symmetrical scraper was also thought to have come from the Brixham Cave, and is shown full size in Fig. 412. I remarked in publishing it that it closely resembled the scrapers found{516}on the surface of the soil, and that it was exceptionally short for a cave-specimen. A little time after the first edition of this book had appeared, I discovered that this scraper had been found on the surface near the top of Windmill Hill, and had been included with the other specimens by mistake.[2435]It is undoubtedly neolithic.
Fig. 412.—Brixham Cave.1⁄1
Fig. 412.—Brixham Cave.1⁄1
The other implements from the Brixham Cave consist for the most part of flakes and splinters of flint of different sizes, and more or less chipped. One of these,23⁄4inches long, has been chipped or jagged along one edge, apparently by use, while the broad round end is so much worn away as to almost assume the appearance of a “scraper.” Most of them bear decided marks, either on their sides or ends, of having been in use as scraping tools. About half way along one of them is a rounded notch, apparently produced by scraping some cylindrical object; and in connection with this it may be mentioned that a portion of a cylindrical pin, or rod, of ivory was found in the cave, being the only object wrought from an animal substance. A cylindrical piece of ivory about3⁄8inch in diameter was found in the Gorge d’Enfer cavern, and is in the Christy Collection. Some of the splinters of flint are very small, and yet one of them only3⁄4inch by5⁄8inch shows the worn edge resulting from use. An irregular subangular flint pebble somewhat pear-shaped in form has some of its angles much battered, as if by hammering, and has probably served as a hammer-stone, simply held in the hand. Pebbles similarly bruised at the more salient parts have frequently been found in the French caves.
The Brixham Cave specimens are now in the British Museum, and the general result of the examination of them, is that they are found to present analogous, and in some cases almost identical, forms with those discovered in other caves, and in the ancient river-gravels, associated with the remains of animals now for the most part extinct; and that most of the implements prove not only to have been made by man, but to have been actually in use before becoming imbedded in the cave-loam; while from the whole of the flints discovered presenting these signs of human workmanship or use upon them, it is evident that their presence in the cave must in some measure be due to human agency, though it was probably by means of water that they were deposited in the positions in which they were found.
These caves, rock-shelters, or fissures are situated near{517}Denbury, Devon, and were explored by Mr. J. L. Widger, with results recorded by the late Mr. J. E. Lee.[2436]In them were found numerous mammalian remains, including teeth of rhinoceros, hyæna, and bear, and several worked flints. One of these, described as a “Flint Implement of the older type,”[2437]was found beneath two thick stalagmite floors. Many of the implements from these caves are now in the British Museum.
In the Happaway Cavern,[2438]Torquay, teeth of the same mammals were found, together with human bones and apparently a flint flake as well as many splinters of flint. Human remains were also found with those of hyæna in a cave at Cattedown,[2439]Plymouth.
The so-called Hyæna Den at Wookey Hole, near Wells, Somerset, has been explored at different times between 1859 and 1863 by Prof. Boyd Hawkins, F.R.S., assisted by the Rev. J. Williamson, F.G.S., Mr. James Parker, F.G.S., and Mr. Henry Willett, F.G.S., and accounts of the exploration have been published in theQuarterly Journal of the Geological Society.[2440]
The cave is situated no great distance from the mouth of the large and well-known cavern of Wookey Hole, and pierces the Dolomitic Conglomerate. It was first discovered about the year 1849, in cutting a mill-race along the edge of the rock, and consists of a principal chamber, orantrum, connected with a bifurcated tunnel narrowing as it recedes from the chamber, and with one branch terminating in a vertical passage. At the time of the discovery, both the chamber and the passage were for the greater part filled with red earth, stones, and animal remains quite up to the roof, and in other parts to within a few inches of it. In a few places only was there any deposit of stalagmite. In theantrum, both the upper and lower part of the red earth which filled the cave contained but few organic remains, though they were abundant towards the middle of the deposit. In part of the passage, however, there was an enormous accumulation of animal remains, forming a bone-bed at the top of the cave-earth. The evidences of human occupation were all found in the principal chamber.{518}
Fig. 413.—Wookey Hyæna Den. (Four views of implement.)1⁄1They consisted of bone-ashes, and some instruments of stone and bone. The bone objects are described as two rudely fashioned arrow-heads of the shape of an equilateral triangle, with the angles at the base bevelled off. They have, however, both been lost, so that I am unable to speak more positively as to their character. The stone objects are still forthcoming, and some of them are preserved in the Museums at Brighton and Oxford. One of the finest is shown in full size in four views as Fig. 413, having been engraved for the{519}Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society.[2441]It lay at a depth of 4 feet from the roof, and at a distance of 12 feet from the present entrance. It is described as having lain with some other implements in contact with teeth of hyæna, between dark bands of manganese full of bony splinters, which may have been old floors[2442]of the cave; so that the occupation by the hyæna seems to have succeeded, or alternated with, that by man. It is of white flint, and closely resembles in form some of the smaller implements from the River-drift. It is of less size than the ovoid instruments from Kent’s Cavern, and is not so neatly made as some of them. A smaller instrument from the Wookey Hyæna Den is of much the same form, but still less artistically worked. It is23⁄8inches long and13⁄4inches broad, and may be compared with that from Kent’s Cavern shown in Fig. 389. Other specimens were more of the “sling-stone” form; in addition to which there were numerous flakes and splinters of flint and chert. One flake, which, though it has lost its point, is still23⁄4inches long, has been trimmed by secondary chipping on the flat face, slightly so along one side, but on the other, over half the surface of the flake, which is11⁄4inches wide near the base. When perfect this instrument was probably much like that from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 391. Both its edges show considerable signs of wear by use. Another form described by Prof. Boyd Dawkins is roughly pyramidal, with a smooth and flat base, and a cutting edge all round, much like an instrument found in the cave of Aurignac by M. Lartet. Of this form there were two examples, both made of chert from the Upper Greensand.
Fig. 413.—Wookey Hyæna Den. (Four views of implement.)1⁄1
Fig. 413.—Wookey Hyæna Den. (Four views of implement.)1⁄1
Fig. 413.—Wookey Hyæna Den. (Four views of implement.)1⁄1
They consisted of bone-ashes, and some instruments of stone and bone. The bone objects are described as two rudely fashioned arrow-heads of the shape of an equilateral triangle, with the angles at the base bevelled off. They have, however, both been lost, so that I am unable to speak more positively as to their character. The stone objects are still forthcoming, and some of them are preserved in the Museums at Brighton and Oxford. One of the finest is shown in full size in four views as Fig. 413, having been engraved for the{519}Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society.[2441]It lay at a depth of 4 feet from the roof, and at a distance of 12 feet from the present entrance. It is described as having lain with some other implements in contact with teeth of hyæna, between dark bands of manganese full of bony splinters, which may have been old floors[2442]of the cave; so that the occupation by the hyæna seems to have succeeded, or alternated with, that by man. It is of white flint, and closely resembles in form some of the smaller implements from the River-drift. It is of less size than the ovoid instruments from Kent’s Cavern, and is not so neatly made as some of them. A smaller instrument from the Wookey Hyæna Den is of much the same form, but still less artistically worked. It is23⁄8inches long and13⁄4inches broad, and may be compared with that from Kent’s Cavern shown in Fig. 389. Other specimens were more of the “sling-stone” form; in addition to which there were numerous flakes and splinters of flint and chert. One flake, which, though it has lost its point, is still23⁄4inches long, has been trimmed by secondary chipping on the flat face, slightly so along one side, but on the other, over half the surface of the flake, which is11⁄4inches wide near the base. When perfect this instrument was probably much like that from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 391. Both its edges show considerable signs of wear by use. Another form described by Prof. Boyd Dawkins is roughly pyramidal, with a smooth and flat base, and a cutting edge all round, much like an instrument found in the cave of Aurignac by M. Lartet. Of this form there were two examples, both made of chert from the Upper Greensand.
The fauna of the cave, so far as the larger animals are concerned, is the same as that of Kent’s Cavern, with the addition ofRhinoceros hemitœchus, and of a lemming, and with the exception ofMachairodus. The exact method of accumulation of the deposits in this cave it is very difficult to explain. Prof. Boyd Dawkins has suggested that during its occupation by hyænas, and perhaps for some time afterwards, it was subject to floods similar to those which now from time to time take place in the caverns in the neighbourhood. One thing appears certain, that previously to the filling up of the principal chamber it must, for a longer or shorter period, have been occupied by man; who here also again appears to have been associated with that same fauna, now either totally or locally extinct, with which traces of his handiwork have been discovered intermingled in so many other deposits of a similar character, both on the Continent and in Britain. With regard to the physical features of the country, Sir Charles Lyell[2443]observes, “When I examined the spot in 1860, after I had been{520}shown some remains of the hyæna collected there, I felt convinced that a complete revolution must have taken place in the topography of the district since the time of the extinct quadrupeds. I was not aware at the time, that flint tools had been met with in the same bone-deposit.”
The next British cavern which I have to mention is one of the series in the Peninsula of Gower, in Glamorganshire, explored by Colonel Wood and the late Dr. Hugh Falconer, F.R.S. The cave in question was discovered in 1861, and is known as Long Hole.[2444]It is about one mile east of the well-known Paviland Caves, and is about 130 feet above ordinary high-water mark. It penetrates the limestone rock to a distance of about 44 feet, and when discovered did not exceed in its greatest dimensions 12 feet in width, and 7 feet in height.
There was a deposit of about 7 feet of ferruginous, unctuous cave-earth, mixed with angular fragments of limestone rock, forming the floor, which was in part, if not wholly, of stalagmite. The fossil remains found in the cave includedUrsus spelæus,Hyæna spelæa,Felis spelæa,Rhinoceros hemitœchusandtichorhinus,Elephas antiquusandprimigenius,Bison priscusandCervus tarandus. Flint implements, unquestionably of human manufacture, were found along with these remains; and one very fine flint “arrow-head,” as termed by Dr. Falconer,[2445]was found at a depth of41⁄2feet in the cave-earth, contiguous to a detached shell of a milk molar ofRhinoceros hemitœchus, and at the same depth. Other flint implements were found at a depth of 3 feet below the stalagmite, associated with remains ofCervus Guettardi, a variety of reindeer. Sir Charles Lyell[2446]has remarked that this is the first well-authenticated example of the occurrence ofRhinoceros hemitœchusin connection with human implements. Dr. Falconer has also recognized the same species, in the fragment of an upper milk molar, discovered in the Wookey Hole Hyæna Den by Prof. Boyd Dawkins.
I have had an opportunity of examining casts of the worked flints from Long Hole, in the Christy Collection, and find them to{521}consist exclusively of flakes, some of them well and symmetrically formed, and exhibiting on their edges the marks arising from use.
In some of the other caverns in the same district, Prof. Boyd Dawkins has also discovered flint flakes associated with the remains of a similar group of animals. The Oyle Cave,[2447]Tenby, and Hoyle’s Mouth,[2448]have also afforded flint flakes associated with the remains of a nearly similar fauna.
In the Coygan Cave,[2449]Carmarthenshire, Mr. Laws, of Tenby, found two flint flakes with remains of mammoth and rhinoceros below a foot of stalagmite. In the Ffynnon Beunos Cave,[2450]Dr. H. Hicks, F.R.S., found several worked flints (one like Fig. 390) with bones of Pleistocene animals below a stalagmite breccia, and in the Cae Gwyn Cave[2451]a long scraper with bones of rhinoceros. A flint flake[2452]was found under Drift outside the covered entrance to the cave. Dr. Hicks regards these caves as Pre-Glacial, a view in which I cannot agree.
In the Pont Newydd Cave[2453]near Cefn, Prof. T. McK. Hughes, F.R.S., found, with plentiful remains of the Pleistocene fauna, includingRhinoceros hemitœchus, a number of implements of distinctly palæolithic forms made of felstone and chert, as well as one of flint. This cave can be proved to be Post-Glacial.
Another cave which may be mentioned is that known as King Arthur’s Cave, near Whitchurch, Ross, which was explored by the late Rev. W. S. Symonds, F.G.S., of Pendock.[2454]In this instance flint flakes, and cores formed of chert were found in the cave-earth, with bones and teeth of the usual mammals, in one part of the cavern; while in another, beneath a thick layer of stalagmite, itself covered by what appeared to be a portion of an old river-bed, flint flakes were found associated with the same fauna. Mr. Symonds assigns these fluviatile deposits to an ancient river now represented by the Wye, which flows 300 feet below the level of the cave. If this view be correct, there can, as he observes, hardly be better authenticated evidence of the antiquity of man in the records of cave-history, than that afforded by{522}this old river-bed overlying the thick stalagmite, beneath which the human relics were sealed up.
Since this book first appeared several important and interesting discoveries have been made in British Caves between Chesterfield and Worksop. Perhaps the most remarkable are those made in Creswell Crags on the north-eastern border of Derbyshire, by the Rev. J. Magens Mello,[2455]and Prof. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S.,[2456]who commenced their labours in the year 1875. The ossiferous deposits, in which also traces of man were found, lay both in fissures and in caves in the Lower Magnesian Limestone. Those which yielded the most important stone implements were the Robin Hood and the Church Hole Caves, though Mother Grundy’s Parlour also contributed a few. In the Robin Hood Cave a stalagmitic breccia lay above the cave-earth. In this were found implements of quartzite and iron-stone, eighty-six in number, ruder than those of flint in the breccia. By the kindness of the Council of the Geological Society I am able to give a few representations of those of both classes. Fig. 413Ashows an implement formed from a quartzite pebble worked at the point and side and of a distinctly Palæolithic type. It is much like the specimen from Saltley, Fig. 450B, and some made of similar material found in the neighbourhood of Toulouse.
Fig.413A.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413A.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig. 413Bis of iron-stone, and so far as form is concerned might well have been found in a bed of old River-drift. Some hammer-stones and a side chopper of quartzite, in form like Fig. 443, were also found in the cave-earth. Some flint tools from the breccia are shown in the next three figures. Fig. 413Crecalls one of the blades from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 390, though of{523}smaller dimensions. Fig. 413Dis almost identical with Fig. 399, while the borer, Fig.413E,resembles those of the Neolithic Period. In all, there were found in the Robin Hood Cave no less than 1040 pieces of stone and bone showing traces of human workmanship. Among the bone objects were an awl and numerous pointed antler-tips, but the most remarkable is a smooth and rounded fragment of a rib having the head and forepart of a horse incised upon it. It is shown in Fig.413F.In the Church Hole Cave 213 relics of human workmanship were found, principally flakes of flint, splinters, and quartzite stones. Two of the flakes, one of which is shown in Fig.413G,are worn away on one edge only, as if the other edge had been protected by a wooden handle as suggested in the sketch.
Fig.413B.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2Fig.413C.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413B.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2Fig.413C.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413B.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2Fig.413C.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413B.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2Fig.413C.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413B.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413C.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄2
Fig.413D.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1Fig.413E.—Robin Hood Cave.
Fig.413D.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1Fig.413E.—Robin Hood Cave.
Fig.413D.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1Fig.413E.—Robin Hood Cave.
Fig.413D.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1Fig.413E.—Robin Hood Cave.
Fig.413D.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1
Fig.413E.—Robin Hood Cave.
Among the bone objects was an oval plate notched at the sides and a bone needle, Fig.413H.It is of larger size than is usual in caves of this period.{524}
The fauna comprised cave-lion, hyæna, bear, Irish elk, woolly rhinoceros, and mammoth. A fine upper canine ofMachairoduswas also found. Most of the objects described are now in the British Museum. We have here another instance of quartzite implements of Palæolithic type, being found well to the north of the area in which drift-implements are usually discovered.
Fig.413F.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1
Fig.413F.—Robin Hood Cave.1⁄1
The relics found in the Victoria Cave[2457]at Settle belong to a later period than that of which I am treating.
A cave at Ballynamintra,[2458]Co. Waterford, is Neolithic.
Fig.413G.—Church Hole Cave.1⁄1
Fig.413G.—Church Hole Cave.1⁄1
The Mentone caves would open so large a field for discussion that I content myself with a passing reference to them.
Fig.413H.—Church Hole Cave.1⁄1
Fig.413H.—Church Hole Cave.1⁄1
Were no other evidence forthcoming, the results of an examination of the British caves already described would justify us in concluding that in this country man co-existed with a number of the larger mammals now for the most part absolutely extinct, while others have long since disappeared from this portion of the globe. The association, under slightly differing circumstances,{525}and in several distinct cases, of objects of human industry with the remains of this extinct fauna, in which so many of the animals characteristic of the existing fauna are “conspicuous by their absence,” in undisturbed beds, and for the most part beneath a thick coating of stalagmite, leads of necessity to this conclusion. This becomes, if possible, more secure when the results of the exploration of other caves on the Continent of Western Europe are taken into account. How long a period may have intervened between the extinction, or migration, of these animals and the present time is, of course, another question; but such changes in the animal world as had already taken place at least three thousand years ago, do not appear to occur either suddenly or even with great rapidity; and, leaving the stalagmite out of consideration, we have already seen that in some instances the physical configuration of the country in the immediate neighbourhood of the caves seems to have been greatly changed since the period of their infilling.
These changes are perhaps more conclusively illustrated in the case of the old river deposits, in which the remains of the same extinct fauna as that of the caves occur associated with implements manufactured by the hand of man, to which we must now direct our attention.