I had the honour last June of reporting to the Society my discovery of some interesting bone-caves and fissures in Creswell Crags, in the Lower Magnesian Limestone of N.E. Derbyshire, which contained a large number of species of Pleistocene mammalia, together with some traces of the presence of man[1]. I was able on that occasion to exhibit portions of some 15 or 16 species belonging to no fewer than 12 genera obtained from one cave alone, locally known as the Pin-hole, so called from a curious custom which prevails amongst some of its visitors of dropping a pin into a small water-filled hollow, removing at the same time a pin deposited by some previous visitor. Amongst the animals which had left their remains in this cave the most important were the Irish Elk, the Glutton, and the Arctic Fox; together with these were a large number of Hyæna remains, and also bones and teeth of the Mammoth, the Woolly Rhinoceros, the Brown Bear, the Reindeer, the Urus, and of some other animals. During the past summer I have been able to carry on the work of exploration, assisted by Mr. Thomas Heath, F.R.H.S., Curator of the Derby Museum, who has been able to devote a good deal of time to it, and whose skilful help has been of great value in carrying on the researches; and I must also acknowledge the energetic assistance given us by Mr. F. Tebbet, superintendent at the Creswell quarries, who from the beginning has taken much interest in these discoveries.
We commenced the renewed search by continuing the excavation of the floor of the Pin-hole, trusting that amongst other remains we might obtain some more evidence of the presence of the Arctic Fox; in this, however, we were not successful. All the front of the cavern was thoroughly searched, the chief bones found being two perfect pelves of Rhinoceros tichorhinus, and also two atlases of the same animal, together with a few Reindeer- and other bones of no particular interest. As we worked our way further into the fissure the number of bones found was very small indeed; the bed of red sand, which at the entrance of the cave had proved so rich in its contents, became filled with limestone fragments, and was nearly destitute of bones; and we determined, under these circumstances, to desert that cave for the time and begin the exploration of a neighbouring one a little lower down the ravine, and in the same side of it. This, which is called the Robin-Hood Cave, is of moderate size, containing several chambers communicating with each other, the separation merely consisting of narrow walls of the limestone rock (fig. 1).
We began work here by making a section of the floor at the entrance, cutting down to a depth of about 8 feet, where blocks of limestone were met with, which probably form part of the original
- ↑ Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxxi. p. 679.
