Page:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 33.djvu/836

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1. Introduction.—In the spring of 1876, by the courtesy of the owner of the land, Mrs. Champion, we were able to carry on the exploration of the ossiferous deposit at Windy Knoll, near Castleton, begun in 1874 by Mr. Rooke Pennington, and described in the 'Quarterly Journal' (May 1875, p. 211), with the following results.

If reference be made to the above paper (p. 242) it will be seen that the fissure in which the remains were first met with was traced to a sort of basin filled with clay and packed full of bones of animals and large and small blocks of stone. "We resolved to have this thoroughly examined by a body of experienced miners, working under the constant supervision of Mr. John Tym, of Castleton, while we were, as far as possible, present during the six weeks spent in the work.

2. Exploration.—We began operations on the east side of the mound of clay, and rapidly exposed the following section (fig. 1) in descending order:—

3. Association of Remains.—The bones and teeth of the animals from the ossiferous yellow clay are, for the most part, perfect, and had been buried in their natural positions. The limb-bones of bison, for example, and of reindeer had their proper articular surfaces together, and the sesamoids, tarsals, and carpals in place. The dorsal vertebræ of a reindeer were found in one continuous chain.