But when we consider the evidences furnished by the remains of the extinct mammalia, mingled with those of primitive man, much more is it impressed upon the mind that we are dealing with relics of enormous antiquity. The great assemblage of bones of the extinct animals which occurs at Banwell Cave, and the numberless finds from the caves of Cheddar, are indications of this; but those of the Hyæna Den of Wookey Hole, and the conditions of their deposit there, afford us much more reliable testimony. Here are two principal cavities on the eastern side of the ravine, representing two of the five river levels which the stream of the Axe has hollowed for itself in the Dolomitic Conglomerate. These are branch or side chambers which have not been totally destroyed in the process of erosion that formed the ravine at the expense of the cavern. In the uppermost cavity, known as the Badger Hole (it was the haunt of badgers until a few years ago), no traces of the extinct mammalia are to be found, nor have I found definite traces of prehistoric man. At seven feet below the surface, however, there is a bed of river sand of precisely the same kind as that in the upper chambers of the great cavern. In the Hyæna Den below, on the other hand, so thoroughly and systematically explored by Professor Boyd Dawkins, was found one of the most perfect assemblages of the remains of extinct animals ever discovered. Many years after his labours were completed I searched there again, and was rewarded with a by no means poor collection of bones and teeth: Mammoth and Woolly Rhinoceros, Irish Elk and Reindeer, Red Deer, Bison, Cave Lion and Bear, Hyæna and Wolf, Wild Goat, Wild Horse, and Wild Boar have all been found. One of my earliest trophies was a fairly complete skull of a young Bear; and I have representatives of all the others. From a small hole in the side of the valley hard by, which I thought looked promising, we have obtained a large number of Rhinoceros teeth, together with those of several of the other kinds present in the Den. The examination of these cavities and their contents demonstrates the fact that they were the actual dens of some of these animals. The abundant marks of gnawing show that the Hyænas made their home there. Over the vertical cliff many a worn-out beast was hunted to its death by the Hyænas and Wolves, and its shattered carcass dragged to this hole. [Illustration: ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY, COINS, HUMAN REMAINS, ETC., WOOKEY HOLE CAVE. _Photo by H. E. Balch._] [Illustration: HYÆNA DEN AND BADGER HOLE, WOOKEY HOLE. _Photo by Bamforth, Holmfirth._]