Bronze epoch. The third layer has been followed for 3500 square feet; it was six or seven inches in thickness, and lay at a depth of 19 feet (5.69 metres) below the present surface: in it were found some fragments of very rude pottery, some pieces of charcoal, some broken bones, and a human skeleton with a small, round, and very thick skull. Fragments of charcoal were even found a foot deeper, and it is also worthy of notice that no trace of tiles was found below the upper layer of earth.

Towards the centre of the cone, the three layers disappear, since, at this part, the torrent has most force, and has deposited the coarsest materials, even some blocks as much as three feet in diameter. The farther we go from this central region the smaller are the materials deposited, and the more easily might a layer of earth, formed since the last great inundations, be covered over by fresh deposits. Thus, at a depth of ten feet, in the gravel on the south of the cone, at a part where the layer of earth belonging to the bronze age had already disappeared, two unrolled bronze implements were discovered. They had probably been retained by their weight, when the earth, which once covered them, was washed away by the torrent. After disappearing towards the centre of the cone, the three layers reappear on the north side, at slightly greater depth, but with the same regularity and the same relative position. The layer of the Stone age was but slightly interrupted, while that of the Bronze era was easily distinguishable by its peculiar character and colour.

Here, therefore, we have phenomena so regular, and so well marked that we may apply to them a calculation, with some little confidence of at least approximate accuracy. Making then some allowances, for instance, admitting three hundred years instead of one hundred and fifty, for the period since the embankment, and taking the Roman period as representing an antiquity of from sixteen to eighteen centuries, we should have for the age of Bronze an antiquity of from 2900 to 4200 years, for that of the Stone period from 4700 to 7000 years, and for the whole cone an age of from 7400 to 11,000 years. M. Morlot thinks that we should be most nearly correct in deducting two hundred years only for the action of the dykes, and in attributing to the Roman layer an antiquity of sixteen centuries, that is to say, in referring it to the middle of the third century. This would give an age of 3800 years for the Bronze age and 6400 years for that of Stone, but on the whole he is inclined to suppose for the former an antiquity of from 3000 to 4000 years, and for the latter of from 5000 to 7000 years.

In the settlement at the foot of Mt. Chamblon we have, according to M. Troyon, a second instance in which we obtain at least some approximation to a date. The interest which attaches to this case arises from the fact that Pileworks have been found in the peat at a considerable distance from the lake, whereas it is evident that at the time of their construction the spot in which they occur must have been under water, as this mode of building would have been quite

out of place on dry land. This however indicates a very considerable antiquity, since the site of the ancient city Eburodunum must have been, at that time, entirely covered by the lake, and yet the name, which is of Celtic origin, denotes that there was a town here even before the Roman period. In order, however, to form an idea of the time at which the dwellings at Chamblon were left dry by the retirement of the lake, we must have in the valley a point of determined age, to serve as a term of comparison, and such a point we find in the ancient city of Eburodunum (Yverdon), which was built on a dune extending from Jorat to the Thièle. Between this dune and the lake, on the site at present occupied by the city of Yverdon no traces of Roman antiquities have ever been discovered, from which it is concluded that it was at that period under water. If then we admit that at the close of the fourth century the lake washed the walls of the Castrum Eburodense, we shall have fifteen centuries as the period required to effect this change. The zone thus uncovered in fifteen hundred years is 2500 feet in breadth, and as the piles at Chamblon are at least 5500 feet from the water, it may be inferred that three thousand three hundred years must have elapsed since they were left dry. This Lake-dwelling belonged to the Bronze period, and the date thus obtained, agrees pretty well with that obtained from the examination of the Cone de la Tinière. M. Troyon adds that "rien ne fait soupçonner, pendant l'époque humaine et antérieurement "a notre ére, des conditions d'accroisement differentes de celles qui ont "eu lieu posterieurement aux Romains; le résultat obténu est même un "minimum, vu que la vallée va se rétrécissant du côté du lac et que "nous avons admis la présence de celui-ci au pied même d'Eburodunum "dans le IVe siècle de l'ère chrétienne, tandis qu'il est probable que "la retraite des eaux n'a pas été insensible depuis le moment où les "Romains se sont fixés sur ce point."

However this may be, and while freely admitting in how many respects this calculation is open to objection, we may still observe that the result agrees in some measure with that given by the Cone de la Tinière. The ancient history of Greece and Rome, as far as it goes, tends to confirm these dates, since we know that at the time of Homer and Hesiod, arms were, in part at least, made of iron, and as we know that, at a very early period, there was a certain amount of commerce between Helvetia and the shores of the Mediterranean, we can hardly suppose that a metal so immensely important as iron, can have remained unknown in the former country, long after it was generally used throughout the latter.

Still, though we must not conceal from ourselves the imperfection of the archæological record, we need not despair of eventually obtaining some more definite chronology. Our knowledge of primitive antiquity has made an enormous stride in the last ten years, and the future is full of hope. I am glad to hear from M. Troyon that the Swiss archæologists are continuing their labours. They may feel assured that we in England await with interest the results of their investigations.

BOS PRIMIGENIUS.

A. Skull of the existing Race, after Rütimeyer.-B. Fossil

skull. Owen's British Fossil Mammals and Birds.

B. LONGIFRONS. A. Skull of the existing Race, after Rütimeyer.-B. Fossil skull.
Owen's British Fossil Mammals and Birds.

B. FRONTOSUS. A. Skull of the existing Race, after Rütimeyer.-B. Fossil skull, after Nillson.

53

VI.-NEW RESEARCHES RESPECTING THE CO-EXISTENCE OF MAN WITH THE GREAT FOSSIL MAMMALS, REGARDED AS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE LATEST GEOLOGICAL PERIOD. By M. Edward Lartet. (Ann, des Sc. Nat. 4me Sèrie. Tom. XV.)

THE town of Aurignac, situated in the arrondissement of St. Gaudens (Haute Garonne), is placed nearly on the summit of one of five eminences, constituting a hilly range, whose geognostic formation and upheaved strata manifest its relations with the dislocated spurs of the Pyrenean system. The contour of this oreographic projection, in which the strata of the chalk and of the nummulitic or supracretaceous rock are not always inclined in the same direction, differs but little from that of the tertiary hills which rise below it to the west. The confused and uninformed traveller, consequently, approaching Aurignac from that side, would not perceive the transition which is manifested under his feet, were not his attention awakened by a sudden change in the nature of the rocks and by the evidences of dislocation presented in the road-cuttings.

The road leading from Aurignac to the little town of Boulogne in the same arrondissement, runs pretty nearly from east to west, on the southern flank of the mountain of Portel. On the opposite side, to the south, rises the mountain of Fajoles,* forming an elongated, saddleshaped ridge, which runs in pretty nearly the same direction, and which, though of lower elevation, and nowhere precipitous, is nevertheless completely isolated from all the hydrographic influences of the district. Between these two eminences, or mountains, is a contracted valley along whose bottom runs the brook of Rodes or Arrodes, which, on reaching, a little more to the west, the foot of the mountain of Portel, turns sharply round to the north, and after running a few kilometres to the north-west joins the Louge, a small river which takes its rise on the plateau of Lanemézan.

In the patois of the country: Mountagno de las Najoles, mountain of Beeches. But at the present time not a single beech tree is to be found either on this mountain or in the surrounding country, nor does there exist any remembrance or tradition even of their formerly having flourished there. The arboreal vegetation of any region is subject to great variations in the progress of time, even independently of any change in the climatal conditions. The valuable researches of Professor J. Steenstrup on the Skövmosses, or Forest Turf-bogs of Denmark, have shown, that in that country there have been three distinct periods of arboreal vegetation since the existence of man: 1, that of the Pine; 2, that of the Oak; and 3, that of the Beech, which continues to the present day. The soil, in process of time, becomes exhausted of the elements more especially adapted to the nutrition of forests of one kind or another. The disappearance of this vegetation involves that of the species of animals which feed upon the foliage. The Cock of the Woods, which was common in Denmark in the Pine-period, no longer exists there. The discoveries of M. Tournal in the caverns of the Aude shows that at a certain epoch in the pre-historic period, man consumed for food the Stag, Reindeer, Wild Goat, Helix nemoralis, &c. At the present day the Stag is no longer found in the south of France, the Reindeer has retired to the Arctic regions of Europe, the Wild Goat is scarcely represented by rare descendants on the lofty peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees, whilst Helix nemoralis has entirely disappeared with the forests from that part of the country.

Following the rapid descent of the road from Aurignac to Boulogne for about a mile, (1600 metres), the traveller reaches a point whence, on the opposite side of the valley, the low ridge of the mountain of Fajoles does not rise more than about twenty metres above the stream of the Rodes. On the northern slope of this eminence may be seen an escarpment, more or less natural, of the nummulitic rock (calcaire à melonies of M. Leymerie), and on the side of this a sort of niche, or shallow grotto, whose arched entrance looks to the N.W. The floor of this excavation, which is now completely cleared out, is not more than 2 metres in horizontal depth, with an extreme width of 3 metres at the entrance. It is situated about 13 or 14 metres above the level of the stream. Outside the grotto, and a little below it, the calcareous soil forms a sort of platform, some metres in extent, slightly inclined towards the brook, and leaning on the south against the escarpment of the rock, the perpendicularity of which had, probably, originally been in part produced by the hand of man.

Ten years ago the existence of this cavern was unknown. Its approaches were concealed under a heap, or talus, formed of fragments of the rock and vegetable soil, probably thrown down solely by atmospheric agency. The place, nevertheless, was often resorted to by the sportsmen of the neighbourhood, owing to the circumstance that at a point in the outer heap of earth, pretty nearly on a level with the vault of the grotto, there was a hole, into which the rabbits, when hotly pursued, were accustomed to take refuge.

A labouring man, J. B. Bonnemaison, employed in the breaking of stones for the repair of the neighbouring road, was led to introduce his hand and arm into this hole, whence, to his great surprise, he brought out a bone of considerable size. At once suspecting the existence of a subterranean cavity, and curious to find out what it contained, he dug away part of the talus below the opening. At the end of some hours he came upon a large slab of stone, of no great thickness, and placed vertically in front of an arched opening, which it closed completely, leaving only a hole, resorted to by the rabbits, uncovered. When this slab was removed, he noticed a certain quantity of bones and skulls, which he at once recognized as human. The bones, which belonged to several skeletons, were found partly imbedded in a loose soil, which might have been introduced into the sepulchre at the time of interment.

This discovery of Bonnemaison's was quickly noised abroad; the curious in such matters flocked to the place, and various conjectures were formed to explain the occurrence of such an abundance of human remains in a situation so remote from any actual habitation. The older inhabitants of the district recalled the circumstance that at a remote period, a band of coiners had been surprised in the exercise of their nefarious industry, in a solitary house at no great distance from the spot. This was held sufficient to justify the popular impression that these gentry had been also guilty of numerous murders,