52 ABBOTT— ARCH^OLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF 



dune clouds the water when thrown into it. This method of band- 

 formation is beautifully shown, where extensive exposures, i. e., of 

 hundreds of square feet, have been made. Deep-lying bands can 

 here be directly connected with the surface, the lines or channels of 

 infiltration or inflowing still to be seen. 



Sand is never found where it originated as sand. It is, from the 

 day of its origin, a wanderer until conditions finally imprison it, as 

 with this dune, which was derived from the surrounding area, 

 whether wind or water left it where it is. This, of course, necessi- 

 tates an open country, for the wind cannot reach the sand when 

 protected by vegetation. It was an open country and a coastal plain 

 in a very literal sense, and it was such at so remote a date, not geo- 

 logically, but as we measure history, that the water of the brook 

 nearby was salt or brackish, as evidenced by the presence of a 

 marine conchological fauna — My a, Ostrea, Cardinm, and unde- 

 terminable fragments. Also four valves, broken, of an Anadonta 



or Unio ; all of which brings us face to face with an antiquity 



worthy of consideration, as there is also an archaological interest 

 in this dune, in that it contains traces of man's handicraft. 



Or, are these traces of man, intrusive objects? The plat under 

 consideration was part of an extensive forest less than two centuries 

 ago ; the tree-growth being largely oak, with some chestnut, maple, 

 birch, sour gum, hickory and sassafras. The undergrowth was 

 largely greenbriar (Smilax rotnndifolia), with some ampelopsis and 

 grape. The ordinary semi-aquatic growths of to-day fringed the 

 brook and in such effective fashion that the water, was hidden 

 except in winter. 



The annual deposit due to decay of such vegetation is greater 

 than the erosion and has therefore gradually raised the surface of 

 the brook's surroundings ; not measurably perhaps, but certainly 

 to some extent during many centuries. That at one time there was 

 an open brook with characteristic fauna is certain, as even 

 now, when the stream is at freshet stage, the mud minnow 

 (Umba pygmosa) and crayfish {Cambariis diogcncs) come from 

 the reaches of the brook nearer the river, where the conditions for 

 aquatic life are favorable throughout the year. It is, however, the 

 one-time tree-growth to which attention should be called, and not 



