r.vi..r,ni.rnnc dkposits at iiitciux. 15 



A preliminaiT examination of the neighbourhood of Hitchin 

 convinced mc that the Pahrolithic and ancient aUuvial deposits 

 there found occupied a snuiU irregidar valley, which luid become 

 silti'd up and almost obliterated. It was desirable to construct 

 an accurate geolopcal section across this valley, such as we were 

 able to draw at Hoxue ; but it seemed likely that conditions would 

 prove much less favourable than at Hoxne, and that the coarse, 

 loose, and watery cliaracter of the strata would render work 

 difficult. Such proved to be the case, and instead of being able 

 to make a connected chain of borings, it was necessary to select 

 sites where the difficulties could best be avoided. The result of 

 this method of work has been, that while the general structure 

 and relation of the deposit have become perfectly clear, it is 

 impossible to draw an accurate section across the old valley. 

 Bore after bore was stopped by the closing-in of the sides or 

 by the gravelly nature of the beds, and though no doubt with 

 time and money the deposits could have been pierced, previous 

 experience did not encourage me to persevere, or to hope for any 

 very definite results even if the bottom of the old channel were 

 reached. Attention was therefore mainly devoted to the search 

 for Boulder Clay beneath the Palaeolithic loams, and to the sinking 

 of a trial pit and bore at the point where the buried valley appeared 

 to be deepest. 



This exploration tended to show that the story told by the old 

 valley at Hoxne was repeated at Hitchin. Indeed, the succession 

 of events at the two localities was so similar as to leave scarcely 

 a doubt that we were dealing with an equivalent set of strata, 

 though unfortunately the series was less perfect, and the gaps 

 discovered at Hoxne are still unbridged by any records yet found 

 at Hitchin. Hitchin yields strong corroborative evidence in favour 

 of the conclusions arrived at in the Hoxne Report, and adds 

 somewhat to our knowledge of the temperate flora of the ancient 

 alluvial strata lying between the chalky Boulder Clay and the 

 Palaeolithic brickearth. I must confess, however, that in other 

 respects the results are somewhat disappointing. 



Hitchin lies in the valley cut by the Hiz, a small stream which 

 rises within a mile of the town. Chalk is seen in the valleys, 

 and rises irregularly through the thick sheet of drift which masks 

 most of the area. The greater part of this drift consists of coarse 

 flint gravel, partly of Glacial, partly of Palaeolithic age, and one 

 of the greatest difficulties met with is the impossibility of deciding 

 whether any particular pit is in Glacial or in Post-Glacial gravel, 

 and whether the gravel passes under or over the chalky Boulder 

 Clay. The material being used again and again, the composition 

 of the gravel is practically the same in each case, except for the 

 occiuTcnce of implements in the newer deposits. It was soon 

 found that Mr. Hill was right as to the difficulty of obtaining 

 satisfactory evidence from a study of the gravels. Even between 

 clear sections correlation is impossible, and boring in boulder 

 gravels is so difficult and expensive that I did not feel justified 



