46 



Pulteney Road Section. — An admirable section of the pre-historic 

 fresh-water clays, similar to those at the Royal Hotel, was opened 

 up in digging for the gasometer[^in the Pnlteney Road. 



Pre-historic Period : 

 Yellow or mottled brick earth - - - - 12 

 Various very finely laminated clays with fresh 



water and land shells, and vegetable remains - 7 

 Black band of vegetable matter with numerous - 



seeds 04 



Bed of gravel 09 



Blue marl- - - - - - - -04 



Light coloured fine sand - - - - - 4 



Post^pliocene Period : 

 Mammal drift gravels - - - - 1 2 



resting on lower lias clays. 



I know of no place open at this time in which the fresh water 

 clays above the mammal drift can be seen, but the gravels below are 

 worked at Larkhall and Freshford. Scarcely any two sections of 

 these drifts are alike, and it will be seen in the following that thick 

 beds of marl or clay are occasionally interposed between the gravels. 

 Section at Larkhall Gravel Pit — 



Post-pliocene Period : 

 Gravel, chiefly from oolite and upper lias - 

 Mottled brownish clay 



Blue clay -..._. 



Mottled brownish clay - . . . 



Gravel - - 



resting on clays of lower lias. 



When we go beyond the Roman occupation, we pass into, as far 

 as the Bath district is concerned, pre-historic times. You will 

 remember the tradition of King Bladud and his pigs, and the 

 discovery of the Bath waters by their wallowing in the mud 

 through which they passed. We must carry back the prince into 

 this period, but it is not a little strange that the physical condition 

 of the Bath basin at this time to some extent wan-ants the 

 conclusion that the tradition may not be altogether a myth. Prior 



