Page:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 35.djvu/866

726 This was obviously the equivalent, in point of age, of the superficial layer in the Robin-Hood and Church-Hole caverns (see figs. 2 & 3, No. 5).

Red Sandy Cave-earth.—Below the surface-soil was a bed of light red cave-earth, which, on being followed up towards the mouth of Chamber B, was found to increase in thickness, varying from 3 feet inches opposite the mouth of chamber B to 2 feet 6 inches at the entrance (see figs. 2 & 3, No. 4). The remains of animals were abundant, consisting principally of Bison, Reindeer, Bear, Wolf, Fox, and Hyæna, the coprolites of the last of these animals being very numerous, having been preserved by the dryness of the cavern. In the other caverns, which were wet, they had been crushed out of shape into layers by the repeated trampling of the animals. A few quartzite pebbles, some rudely chipped, were also met with. In the upper parts a few flint flakes were discovered, but they were probably derived from the superficial soil.

Red Clay and Ferruginous Sand.—This stratum near the entrance of the cave rested on the unfossiliferous white sand (see fig. 2), while in figs. 3 & 4, near the entrance of chamber B, two strata were intercalated—a red clay, No. 3, and a highly ferruginous sand, No. 2, which revealed the presence of a fauna hitherto unknown in the Cresswell Caves. In the ferruginous sand, at the point where Section 2 was taken, were the fragments of the skull and other bones of Hippopotamus, together with teeth of Rhinoceros leptorhinus of Owen (R. hemitœchus of Falconer), along with numerous skulls and jaws of Hyæna and some remains of Bison. It is evident that the skull of a Hippopotamus had been left by the Hyænas in this spot; but unfortunately it had been broken to pieces by the previous diggings which led us to re-examine the cave. The ferruginous sand (No. 2) ultimately proved to be purely local (see fig. 4).