By W. Heward Bell, P.GS. 83 
I will now try to trace the events which led to the covering up 
of these older rocks, and resulted in their becoming “ the Buried 
Rocks of Wiltshire” (shown in Section C.). 
Eventually in that part of the Continent, where our Islands now 
stand, several large salt lakes were formed, which were gradually 
enlarged until they became inland seas, like the Caspian; at the 
bottom of these seas or lakes were laid down the great beds of salt, 
which we find to this day in Cheshire and Worcestershire; but 
no salt is found in Wilts or Somerset. The Mendips stood out as 
-an island in this lake or sea, and round their flanks the shores of 
the sea formed shingle beaches, which, during the lapse of ages, 
becoming conglomerates, still bear silent witness to the very different 
aspect they bore in that bye-gone time, while further from those 
shores sand and marl were deposited which are now the lowest 
neozoic strata in Wilts and Somerset, and are represented by the 
lowest beds in the series on the Sections A. and C. The geographical 
conditions are shown in Map L.,, a large salt lake or inland sea lying 
over the greater portion of England with the Mendips standing 
out as an island. 
These deposits, formed at the bottom of this sea or lake, are, as 
said before, the beginning of the secondary, or Neozoic period, and 
are called the Triassic Rocks. It is in these newer or Triassic rocks 
that the break referred to occurs. 
These Triassic rocks are also extremely interesting from the fact 
that the first relics of mammalian life are found in them, being the 
fossil remains of small marsupials. 
Continuing the history of the burial of the paleozoic strata we 
come to the Jurassic series, consisting of lias, oolite, and Oxford 
clays. By reference to maps I. and II. it will be seen that a 
_ gradual subsidence of the land surfaces had taken place, leading to 
a connection between these inland seas and the open sea lying 
_ to the south; consequently oceanic and marine forms of life now 
_ appear, at least we now find their fossilized remains; but there ig 
no break, as in the previous change, from one series of rockg 
to another, the change from the Triassic to the Jurassic being 
~ gradual. 
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