The existence of the St. Cuthbert’s Roman mining settlement on the Mendip Hills, probably first noted in the 1720’s, was confirmed in the 1950’s and 60’s by surface finds and limited excavation. This paper records the extent of the site recognised on aerial photographs, and attempts to interpret its function and relationship to the other Roman mining sites and finds in the Priddy and Chewton Mendip area. The location of finds from the site are listed as an appendix.

The results of thin section analysis of Beaker pottery from Bos Swallet (Taylor, 1964) and Gorsey Bigbury (Jones et al, 1938) are discussed. Although local manufacture is suggested at each site, similarities in firing technology, paste preparation and temper selection may support earlier comparisons based on typology and decorative style (Taylor, 1964) but might equally reflect a more general tradition of pot-making.

In the stores of Wells Museum is a large assemblage of prehistoric worked flint, recovered from fields at the head of Ebbor Gorge. This was collected by Ann Everton in the 1970’s but details were never published. This paper describes the collection, which contains 1460 catalogued items and 11 kg of waste. Several activity phases are represented, ranging in date from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age. It is suggested, however, that most of the flints may relate to a Beaker settlement of the late third millennium BC.

The conventional classification of stalactites by their feeding mechanisms seems to be wrong. The central channel of carbonate stalactites, with rare exceptions, is shown to have no special role in the stalactite feeding, appearing as a consequence of the growth mechanism and not as a cause. In the case of conical stalactites even partial feeding through the channel seems to be prohibited. Non-carbonate stalactites (except those growing from melts), have a structure and texture corresponding to that of tuflactites, corlactites, or crystlactites, not to real stalactites. Of these, there is a significant feeding role for the central channel only for tubular tuflactites.

The information on the caves of the Aran Islands published in Caves of County Clare (Self, 1981) is incomplete. Further data has now been collected, largely from secondary sources and this is acknowledged as such. This material is collected together here.

The physical features of the depression, its surrounding area and associated caves are discussed. It is argued that the depression has been a focus of drainage for a long time having been formed as a border polje at or close to the boundary of the limestone and the shales no later than the early Midlandian Stage of the Pleistocene.

A new survey of Pierre’s Pot and a revised survey of Manor Farm Swallet are presented.