Cave Hunting: Researches on the evidence of caves respecting the early inhabitants of EuropeDawkins, William Boyd
History
Cave Hunting: Researches on the evidence of caves respecting the early inhabitants of Europe
Dawkins, William Boyd
Antiquities, Prehistoric -- Europe; Caves -- Europe; Europe -- Antiquities; Prehistoric peoples -- Europe
Other caves in this country, besides the group under consideration in
Yorkshire, have been occupied by the Brit-Welsh. That known as the
Kirkhead Cave, on the eastern shore of the Promontory of Cartmell, on
the northern shore of Morecambe Bay, explored by Mr. J. P. Morris,[77]
and a Committee of the Anthropological Society in 1864-5, contained
remains of the same type as those of the Brit-Welsh stratum in the
Victoria Cave. In the débris which formed the floor and extended to
an unknown depth below, a coin of Domitian, “a trefoil-shaped Roman
fibula,” a pin, ornamented with green enamel, and a bronze ring were
discovered in association with broken remains of domestic animals--_Bos
longifrons_, pig and goat, dog and horse, as well as stag, roe, wild
goose, and many human bones. A bronze celt and a spear-head were also
found, at a depth respectively of five and six feet, and a flint flake
at a depth of seven feet; and fragments of pottery, a bead of amber,
cut bones, the perforated head of the femur, and other articles. From
this group of remains it may be inferred that the cave was occupied by
the Brit-Welsh, and before them by the users of bronze, and possibly by
a neolithic people, and that it had at some time or another been used
as a place of burial. Just inside the entrance, which overlooked the
sea at a height of 45 feet, a semi-circular breastwork of large stones
rendered the cave habitable, and capable of easy defence.
Mr. Morris’s view that the discovery of a bronze celt, flint flakes,
and coins in this cave proves that all three were in use at the same
time, and by the same people, is not borne out by the published account
of the excavation. There is no proof that the deposit had not been
disturbed, or that the articles were not dropped at different times.
And in support of this conclusion, it may be advanced, that there is
no case on record of the discovery of bronze celts or swords along
with any Roman coins under conditions which would prove that they were
in use at the same time. Had such been the case the ruins of the many
Roman villas and cities, destroyed by the English, would have furnished
some examples. At Silchester, even such a rare article as a Roman eagle
has been met with. There is every reason to believe with Sir John
Lubbock, Mr. Evans, and other eminent archæologists, that the use of
bronze for weapons had been superseded by that of iron before the dawn
of history in this country. It is otherwise with the flint flakes;
since my discovery of several inside a Roman coffin at Hardham, near
Pulborough, in Sussex, in a cemetery that belongs to the later portion
of the Roman dominion in Britain, proves that they were used for some
purpose at that time.[78]
_Poole’s Cave, near Buxton._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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