Page:Excavations at the Kesslerloch.djvu/17

Rh It is situated about ten minutes' walk west of Thayngen, rather a large place in the Canton of Schaffhausen; it lies close to the borders of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and is very near a well-made tunnel on the railroad leading from Constance to Schaffhausen. In front of the cave there are two narrow pleasant vales, uniting at right angles, the bottom of which consists of meadow-land, while the sides are formed partly of naked water-worn rocks, but chiefly of slopes from 60 to 80 feet high, covered with light underwood. The side valley, to the north, which here is about 984 feet long by about 200 feet wide, joins the main valley leading from Thayngen, by Herblingen, to Schaffhausen, where there is a small brook, a narrow footpath, and the line of railroad, and here is to be found the last outpost of the Swiss Jura, about 30 feet high, and very steep towards the side valley. In this steep wall of rock, consisting of white Jura, or oolitic limestone, the Kesslerloch is situated, much about the same level as the flat of the valley.

Description of the Cave.—There are two openings into it; that to the south, 10 feet broad, is about 7 feet above the level of the valley, and towards the west widens out into a cavity from 3$1⁄2$ to 5 feet high and 23 feet long. A gentle slope, formed by a number of fallen limestone fragments, covered with low brushwood, makes the entrance perfectly easy. The