which we had taken to be the end of the Cave in that direction, we found, on digging to the base of the Red-Sand bed, about 6 feet below the level of the floor, that there was an extension of the cave at a lower level (fig. 8, Sect. A); this was nearly, but not quite, filled to the roof with an independent deposit of red sand dipping down into the fissure from the main cave; its upper surface was very smooth and fine, as well as perfectly clean; it appeared as though freshly thrown down by water, and was decidedly bedded. It was dug into to a depth of 3 feet 7 inches, and followed up for about 10 feet, where it was found to be in contact with the roof. As no bones were found here, it was not thought worth while to pursue it any further. Low down in the red sand of Chamber F, at the mouth of this fissure, a fragment of Mammoth bone was obtained; but no other remains were met with here. We consider that the Robin-Hood Cave is now practically worked out, very little having been left in it that has not been carefully searched.
B. The Church Hole.
We must now turn to the second cave to be described, viz. the Church Hole. This is situated on the opposite side of the ravine, and faces the north; its mouth is 14 feet above the present water- level, and 60 feet from the summit of the crags above it, the entrance to the cave being in a crag 40 feet in height. The Church Hole is mainly a long straight fissure (fig. 9), averaging about 4 or 5 feet in width, and running horizontally for the greater part of its length in nearly a due ~N. and S. direction, for a distance of 155 feet. At that point it rises at a considerable angle for another 41 feet, where it ends in a mere blocked-up crack, the extremity of which, we believe, is apparent in a fissure on the hill-top close to an old quarry. This long passage was covered with angular and partially worn fragments of limestone, mostly small and flat; there were also a good number of quartzite pebbles, and many recent bones brought in by foxes. The roof of the fissure was very low in several places, not more than one foot above the floor at one point; but at intervals there were some lofty cracks and chimneys, one of which apparently opens into a passage overhead. Besides this principal portion of the cave, there is a small chamber (B) on the right-hand side near to its mouth, and having a secondary entrance from the face of the cliff through a narrow fissure. The front part of the Church Hole, which is tolerably wide, appeared to have been used at a recent period as a stable or kind of barn; and for about 20 feet from the doorway we had fixed near the entrance the floor had been partially disturbed and dug into, in the centre, to a depth of some 3 or 4 feet; but its fossil contents had been, at any rate for the greater part, unnoticed and unremoved[1]. Last year, whilst the digging was going on in the
- ↑ N.B.—Since the exploration of these caverns commenced, we have heard that, on several occasions, a few teeth and bones had been found here by individuals, by Mr. Tebbet amongst others; but no attention was called to these discoveries at the time.
