248 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 



Moreover, the geologist can by careful correlation of the 

 strata, and identification of the fossil contents of the beds, 

 explain the origin, structure, and features of these outliers 

 with absolute certainty. 



Churchdown Hill then is simply an isolated portion of 

 the Cottesvvold range of hills, and an examination of its 

 fossil contents has a special interest, which is aided by the 

 adoption of the Zonal divisions, — a system adopted by all 

 the geologists of the Continent of Europe. The fossil 

 contents of these sub-divisions, from the tiny Brachiopod 

 to the vertebra of the huge Saurian, are of great import- 

 ance; the more so, when we l)ear in mind the words of 

 Sir Archibald Geikie, that " fossils are witnesses of early 

 ages in the history of our planet, and few occupations 

 possess greater [)Owcr of fascination than to marshal these 

 witnesses, anfl elicit from them the evidence which allows 

 us to restore one after another the successive conditions 

 through which the solid land has passed." The denuding 

 agents which could s<'oop out valleys were able to model 

 and shape the mounds and hills of our vale, from Bredon 

 Hill to the neighbouring Hill of Churchdown. 



On the summit of our hill, which is 580 feet in height, 

 are to be seen many signs of old workings, such as pits, 

 trenches, and excavations, which require some caution to 

 distinguish from the work of modern quarrymen. The 

 former are the ditches and ramparts of an ancient camp, 

 whether of British or Roman work it matters not to the 

 geologist, as his "quarry" is of far more ancient date; 

 but it is well for him to rememl^cr that quarrymen when 

 commencing their workings carefully wheel the top soil 

 and stone in about equal quantity, to be out of their way, 

 on each side of their excavation. On the contrary, the 

 sapper, in making the trench of his field-work, threw up 

 the earth and stone on one side only, to form a rampart, 

 equally strong all along his line of defence. From the 

 north of our hill, any one, standing at the porch of Chosen 



