from Oudh, and joins the Gogra at Gopalpore. A bridge is building near the spot; and the convicts in digging for Kunkur, came upon what would appear to be a pit filled with shells, deers' horns, and all sorts of bones. It appears to be about 12 or 15 feet deep. The size is not yet known; but many thousand maunds of shells have already been dug out for lime. The termination of the bed of shells, where we have come upon it, is perpendicular, like the side of a pit. The site is some jungle close to the high bank of the Nuddee. "No one in the neighbourhood can make even a tolerable guess how this immense mass of shells and bones could have come where we find them. There is no village anywhere near. Some of the people think that some great man in former days must have intended to build a bridge where mine is now building, and have collected the shells for lime. Others, that a mahajun may have collected them for exportation; but neither of these hypotheses will account for the large quantity of horns and bones found amongst the shells. Perhaps the most general belief is, that an Asur lived there, and that he was in the habit of chucking into this pit the bones of the men and animals he devoured, as also the shells of the fish he was forced to eat when he could get nothing better to devour !! I have little doubt the collection is artificial-but I am quite at a loss to imagine how, and by whom, it could have been made. "As a matter of curiosity, I have thought it right to send you some of the shells, bones and horns, with the above brief account. The discovery has been a fortunate one for me, in supplying me with an enormous quantity of the finest lime for my numerous bridges. It will be observed that this letter mentions shells, deers' horns and all sorts of bones, and that the natives held that the Asur devoured men as well, which circumstance would seem to indicate that human bones had been seen among the other remains. The description, therefore, contained in this letter, is applicable, in a general way, to the objects here exhibited, and as there were no other objects in the Museum, at the time, of a like nature they are probably the specimens described in Mr. Tucker's letter, but it will now never be possible to establish this conclusively. Two of the pieces of deer-horn are especially interesting, as one slightly curved fragment 7" 50 long, and about 150 in diameter, has been beveled off at both ends, whilst the other is also beveled at one end. It may be that both of these fragments were horn implements, but at the same time, as Mr. H. B. Medlicott has suggested to me, the beveling may be due to the fragments becoming embedded in the bed of a stream, the ends being worn away by attrition. The foreend of a tine has also been beveled off, but this may have been the work of the deer itself. The base of probably the same antler as the foregoing fragments is also represented, and from the way it is defined it has evidently been a shed horn, and the species would appear to have been Cervus duvaucelli. No. 1.-The upper portion of a human skull, comprising part of the frontal, the greater part of the parietals, and part of the occipital bones. The back portion of the skull is much broken, and some of the pieces overlap one another and are cemented together by the calcareous matrix in which they were found. No. 2.-A mass consisting of the upper and lower jaws of the right side of a human skull. It will be observed that both jaws have been much flattened, and that they are bound together by the matrix in which they had lain. It will also be noticed that the lower jaw has been broken across, one portion lying behind the other more or less flattened out. The upper incisor teeth are wonderfully perfect, but the lower incisors and premolars are much worn, the crowns being ground down flat. The infraorbital foramen of the right side is well seen. The shells of the deposit in which these interesting remains were found are adhering to the bones. No. 3.-The anterior portion of the superior maxilla of the right side of another human skull, in which the crowns of the incisor and premolar teeth are worn regularly down anteroposteriorly into convex smooth surfaces of a brown hue. The free border of the external orifice of the nasal passage of the right side is very perfect. No. 4. The horizontal ramus of the right lower jaw of a human skull with the last molar teeth, and the premolars intact. The three teeth have similarly worn crowns with the previous fragment. No. 5-The external auditory meatus of the right side of a human skull with the mastoid process and a mass of matrix and broken bone. No. 6.-A fragment of a left human temporal bone with mastoid process of occipital. No. 7. The hinder portion of an upper human jaw of the right side containing nearly two perfect molar teeth. No. 8.-The middle of the shaft of a right human femur. No. 9.-A small mass of broken human bones, all firmly joined together. No. 10. A right human ilium, with its anterior border crushed and part of a sacral vertebra firmly attached to the under inner face of the bone. No. 11.-A mass of broken human bones firmly united together, and with a portion of a shell attached. No. 12. Another and similar, but smaller fragment. No. 14.-A quantity of the broken matrix and earthy debris of the matrix, with broken fragments of bones and shells. No. 15.-Two small masses of agglutinated shells. No. 16.-A small quantity of broken shells. The shell is an Unio. No. 17.-Portion of the base of a deer's antler, measuring 7" 50 and slightly curved. One end beveled off. The opposite end is somewhat similarly ground, but it differs from the other in the circumstance that it is truncated at the extreme point. No. 18.-Another and similar fragment, but smaller, mea suring 5" 50 long. No. 19. The tine of an antler, beveled off at the point. No. 20.-The base of a right antler, including the main stem and brow antler. From the relation of these two parts it would appear that the animal was Cervus dunaucelli. No. 21.-A right metacarpal of a ruminant, 7"-50 long, and much encrusted with a calcareous deposit. No. 22.-The upper end, but without the head, of a very large femur of a bovine animal. No. 23. The upper portion of a very large left bovine metatarsus, 8"-20 across the upper articular surface. No. 24. The lower portion of the left metatarsus of a very large bovine animal, the distal articular surfaces having a transverse breadth of 4 inches. No. 25. The right astragulus of a very large bovine animal having an antero posterior length of 3" 80, and a maximum breadth of 2"-80. No. 26. The central portion of a large rib, probably of a ruminant. Mainpuri. The district of Mainpuri is situated in the North-Western Provinces, to the east of Agra, the Jumna defining it on the south. It formed part of the ancient kingdom of Kanauj, and the numerous Buddhist mounds that occur throughout it attest the antiquity of its civilization. The following specimens were found in this district, having been unearthed by a cultivator while tilling his field. When disturbed they were found lying "littered together in a heap, without order, and not enclosed in any vessel or receptacle, and they were not at a great depth below the surface." Mi. 1.-A copper spear-head 7' long, and with a maximum breadth across the teeth of 2". The lower end is cylindrical for about 150, having a diameter of 0"-50, and from the further end of the cylindrical portion a ridge runs along both surfaces of the blade of the instrument, the sides of which are deeply serrated, like the edge of a saw, with five fine recurved teeth, the largest measuring 1′′-28 along its longest border. The expansion at the distal end of the cylindrical portion has a hole through it, doubtless for tying the spearhead on to the shaft, the more contracted tang being let into the socket of the shaft. It weighs 14 oz. For Professor Warden's analysis, see Appendix C. This and the following eight objects were presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal by the Magistrate of Mainpuri, 4th November 1868. Mi. 2.-A broad flat celt, with a slightly rounded cutting edge, the celt having a breadth at this end of 4"-50 and at the opposite end of 3"-40, the maximum thickness being 0"-45. One side is perfectly flat, but the other is very slightly This implement closely resembles some of the forms of celts found in the north of Europe. It may have been used as a battle-axe. Its weight is 2 lbs. 91 oz. convex. 3 1 Proc. As. Soc Beng, 1868, p. 251 et p. 262. Geology of India, Pt. 1, P. 443. 2 Mr. John Cockburn has erroneously described this spear-head as having two eyelets. It has only one. Conf. Journ. As. Soc., Bengal, Vol. LII, Pt. 11, p. 63. Conf. Cockburn, Journ. As. Soc., Beng., Vol. XLVIII, Pt. II, p. 136. |