73) has a stout neck, a long head directed almost vertically, and a hairy chin. Whatever may have been the defects of the artists, the originals of these two drawings must have been different species of horses.
FIG. 73. Head of a Horse (Grotte de La Mouthe). (After Rivière.)
With regard to the authenticity of these rock-engravings, M. Rivière has successfully dispelled misgivings on this score by showing, among other evidence, that the figures were partly covered by the debris accumulated in the cave ; "Cependant ils se prolongeaient aussi sous 1'argile rouge qui constitue le sol de la grotte, a partir d'une certaine distance de l'entrée, et dont le niveau supérieur dépasse généralement 1'extremité des pattes des animaux gravés" (ibid., vol. VIII., 4th Series, p. 314). M. Rivière has also shown that the cave had been occupied by man both in the Palæolithic and Neolithic periods, the two strata being separated "par une stalagmite plus ou moins épaisse." Among the Neolithic débris were fragments of coarse pottery, and bones of various animals, including the horse, stag, and a small-sized ox.
Combarelles.
The Cave of Combarelles is situated in the valley of the Beune, within walking distance of Les Eyzies and Font-de-Gaume (see Fig. 31). It is supposed to be the dried bed of a former subterranean stream, and extends, in the form of a serpentine tunnel, to 234 metres in length, with an average breadth of 1 to 2 metres, and a height of 1.60 to 1.75 metres. Only exceptionally does the height reach, or go beyond 2 metres, but sometimes it sinks so low that one has to creep to get along. The floor and roof are occasionally so much encrusted with stalagmitic deposits as to modify the original height considerably, but the walls are rarely covered with more than a film, which in some parts is absent altogether. The engravings begin at a distance of 118 metres from the entrance, and are continued on both sides, with only slight intervals, for 100 metres to within a few yards of the terminal end of
