76 



cliaracttr, such as the aurochs (or aucient bisou) the reindeer and musk 

 ox. The reindeer now flourishes in the Arctic regions, its home is 

 amongst the snowfields of the northern liemispheres, whence it migrates 

 in winter to more southerly climes, and we may leasDuably infer that 

 these ancient ri^ndeer had the same habits. We may also suppose that 

 if in ancient times tliey had to travel to tlic highlands of the continent 

 of Europe for the summer, there must have been some connecting land 

 or bridge of ice over which they could pass each season. 



We have before seen that in all probability these old gravel beds 

 were deposited at a time when the land stood at a much higher level 

 than it does at present, and as we liud tiere are no evidences of a partial 

 elevation of the country, we must conclude that Enghind was then part 

 of the continent, and the North Sea, as such, had tlien no existence. 

 We arrive at this conclusion from tlie fact that the bed of the North Sea 

 is nowhere very deep, that trawlers are constantly dredging up elephant 

 remains from the bottom, whilst all along our eastern coasts, and 

 especially in the mouth of the Thames there are peat beds and submerged 

 forests containing similar evidences 



The lecturer then proceeded to consider gravel pits outside the 

 county, and explained the nature of the Glacial drift, Eoulder clay, 

 Cromer beds, and post-glacial gravels, his object being to show that the 

 higher river gravels were later than the glacial drift, but perhaps coaeval 

 "with the boulder clay in the North, and to explain the terms pre and 

 post-glacial deposits so frequently made use of by authors treating of 

 the "Antiquity of Man," whose remains as typified by his implements im- 

 bedded in the gravels he next referred to. He stated that in addition to 

 the knowledge derived from the study of the gravel, brick earths, aud 

 similar deposits, the revelations of the contents of caves and caverns 

 which man had occupied for refuge or habitation, had proved of great 

 assistance in corroborating the opinion of the geologist formed from the 

 former, and instanced that the remains of man preserved in such sitiui- 

 tions by the stalagmitic flooring showed that successive races had made 

 use of the same cavern. Another set of observers had directed their 

 attention to the lake dwellings and rubbish heaps with commensurate 

 success, so that now a ^ ery correct idea of his life and habits could be 

 formed. 



In conclusion he urged that ; — 



1. — The gravels and brick earths of the valleys of the Thames and 

 Stour, were deposited by an old river or rivers flowing in the same 

 general direction as at present, and that these gravels may therefore be 

 properly classed as river drift. 



2. — The old river must liave been larger aud of a more torrential 

 character than the present The size is shown by the wide tract within 

 which it flowed. The swiftness by the coarser character of most of the 

 deposits. 



